His Bright Shadow
by Guilty.Ink
Summary: At the start of the Kira case, she made him promise one thing - "Just don't die." L/OC. Complete.
1. Prologue

PROLOGUE

"Hey, Lawl-"

"Sh."

"Right," she softly sighed as she approached the man hunched over a laptop with a shining screen. She allowed herself to fall back and sit next to him as they stared at the news – about recent mysterious murderers in Japan. "Your next assignment?"

"I'm curious," he murmured back to her, his black eyes never leaving the screen. "I actually…want to go oversea and investigate it myself." She raised an eyebrow but didn't comment as she reached forward to dip her finger across the icing on a cake.

"Mm, well it _does _seem interesting," she said after awhile. At last, he turned to face her. His hair was dark and tousled, and there were prominent bags underneath his very black eyes but this was the face she had grown accustomed to after many, many years. The more she thought about the details of the case - such effortless seeming murders, the more worried she became. "I'll be coming with you, if Watari agrees."

The smallest of smiles hinted on his face. "I don't think I need help," he stated, "I'm quite confident about how to find…Kira," he said, his eyes flicking back to the screen of a list of names.

She stopped. "Just don't die on me."

"Oh?" He seemed distracted yet again.

She scratched her head and exhaled but the lingering fear didn't leave. "I just have a bad feeling about this case," she continued and made up her mind, "I _am _coming with you." She looked at him boldly, her grey eyes staring intently at his. His eyes slid to his side and he quickly analyzed her face with a sigh.

"Well I suppose you would." He said quickly. He noticed the way her eyebrows were pulled together in anxiousness and he sighed. He couldn't fathom why she seemed so worried but he would rather not have her concerned anyway. "Here, have a cake."

* * *

First Deathnote fanfiction! I hope you enjoyed this little bit. Tell me what you think :)


	2. Chapter 1: A Set Up

A/N: For the sake of this story, let's pretend L is twenty-one, agreed? Hopefully, this won't be a huge turn off! Enjoy :)

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE: A SET-UP**

A tall rather on the slimmer side man looked around the well-furnished room. His black eyes quickly move and he made a sound of approval. "Come on in, Elaine." He called out once he settled in the hotel room. After awhile of discussing the entire case with the Japanese police force, he had finally set out a headquarter stationed out there. He was taking the first move.

A girl with dark brown hair leaned in through the doorframe and she looked around with childish curiosity. She blinked and shrugged before throwing her luggage into the side of the room. "Nothing very spectacular about it," she stated and flitted down to the couch in front of the young man.

"I _am _trying to stay undercover," he acknowledged. "We'll be transferring after several days anyway." After the live broadcast confrontation with Kira, not only had he gathered much more information but he gained even more insight about the nature of the case. It may be dangerous, after all. But incredibly interesting to him.

He was sure he had most of it figured out by now. Almost too easily.

Not that Elaine agreed. "Are you sure about this? Being so…on the front lines?" She asked him, the side of her face against her knuckles lazily. Her grey eyes skimmed through the room and all the files before flickering back up to Lawliet.

"Quite sure," he said. "I'm counting on the fact that _Kira _would face me here."

"Don't forget to be charming," she smiled and then blinked. "Well, I suppose it's time for alias."

"How about…Emiko - Emi." He suggested, his eyes wandering.

"That sounds fine," she smiled to which he shrugged casually about. But his eyes were still moving around the room distractedly. "What are you thinking about?"

"Oh just the entire case," he admitted, "and if whether you should just pretend to be me."

She rolled her eyes but honestly considered it. Whereas Watari had always been his link to the investigations and its handlers, it was always Elaine that carried out any crucial roles that required a physical presence. He preferred to stay behind the screen, giving out nothing – barely his own name. "I could very well die out here like this." He murmured. Scratching his head, he walked out towards the glass window. The hotel overlooked the sprawling city with dizzying lights and black skies behind it. A knock on the door brought both their attention to their visitors: the task force. Her eyes brightened.

"It's unlocked. Please," they exchanged a small smile and Elaine uncrossed her leg to go into another room, "let yourselves in."

As much as she wanted to see their reaction at seeing L for the first time – all 5"8 of his pale, sleep deprived and rather _odd _looking self – they had already agreed for her role in the investigation to be kept a secret until a better use of her contribution can be determined. She leaned against the door to hear their conversation.

"Bang."

Oh, L.

"What the hell was that?!"

"If I were Kira, you'd be dead, Mister Soichiro Yagami of the NPA," L said lazily as he shuffled around. Elaine suppressed a giggle. She could imagine him talking to them with their patronizing tone and expressionless eyes. She sighed and rested back comfortably, waiting for them to be done.

But it was incredibly _boring_. All her life – from the very beginning where she was brought into the Wammy's House orphanage – had been far from it. There was always that one child who would get into trouble and smile their way through it – and that was Elaine. When L arrived, she thought he was…weird. Yet as soon as he left, she found herself missing the odd dark haired kid that she used to share her desserts with.

Nonetheless, after having her fair share of exciting cases and missions as an SIS agent, she was finally reunited with Watari and soon after, L. But that was three years ago, when she was fifteen and Lawliet was eighteen. Since then, they had worked together on every single investigation. She pulled the stunts, the risky move, the reckless one. And L was all brain.

Hours passed. She yawned, staring out the window opposite to her, her eyelids falling.

After days of looking through files, only one named lingered in her mind. One person she suspected over everyone else: Light Yagami.

0-0

Days had passed since the initial meeting, and she had no company but Watari, occasionally coming into the separate suite to bring her food. She carried out her own investigation until –

A knock on the door startled her.

She peaked through the door and L appeared, hands in his pocket and eyes down. A familiar tightening in her chest made her remember that she hadn't seen her partner in crime for several days now. They had to work separately, just in case she needed to play a role that had no affiliation to the police. "Do you remember Naomi Misora?" He asked quietly. Her eyebrows knit together.

"From the LA case two years ago?"

"She died."

Her mind clicked instantly. Naomi Misora was the fiancée of Raye Penber, an agent who was tailing the Yagami family. And yet again, the name Light Yagami popped up. She highly doubt it was a coincidence. "Light Yagami," she whispered, her fingers flexing into a fist, "I want to watch him."

"I've allowed them to wire his home."

At the news, she grinned excitedly. "I guess I know what I'm going to do now." She got up and stretched. Her long hair was a mess, and she wore something that closely slightly resembled L's dishevelled attire: pajama shorts and a white long sleeve shirt. Lawliet looked her up and down, and then at the files she had been overlooking.

"Perhaps you should…clean yourself up." He recommended lightly. They had an unspoken communication: their plans were nearly parallel. Little discussions were needed amongst the two after so long of working closely together. "After all, Light Yagami isn't _that _much younger than you."

She felt a smile pull on her lips. "You are horrible, Ryuzaki."

The corners of his mouth turned. "Well I suppose it's time for you to meet his father." His dark eyes met her pale grey ones. "You'll be on show for a couple days, after all."


	3. Chapter 2: Light Yagami

CHAPTER TWO: LIGHT YAGAMI

"Well you _do _clean up well," L commented as his eyes ran down the girl in front of him. The entire task force – _especially _Matsuda – flushed slightly and cleared their throats. The eighteen-year old girl had brushed through her hair and dressed in more assignment-appropriate clothing: a black bustier underneath a sharp leather jacket, with dark jeans and boots to match. Her dark ensemble only brightened her eyes.

She adjusted the earpiece as L tested it. "Can you hear me?" He asked, looking slightly amused as his fingers played with the speaker at his mouth, his eyes never leaving her.

"Loud and clear."

And then she was off. She walked through the neighbourhood district as her partner and the suspect's father, Soichiro narrated what was going on. So little Light Yagami was just another hormonal teenager, she thought amused, but she was fairly sure it was all a cover. After all, she had done her research on this genius of a seventeen year old and everything about it seemed too calculated.

"We just sent out the news." Her partner warned. There was a moment of pause. "He's quite clever, Ellie, don't be too obvious."

Elaine smiled at hearing L call her by the nickname and she stopped in front of the door and with a deep breath, she knocked on it. Within seconds, a short brown haired girl opened the door and looked up at the girl. Elaine smiled at the chief's daughter as she heard someone shuffle up the staircase. "I'm sorry, I'm not interrupting, am I?"

"Oh, no," she blinked, "of course not. Um, who –"

"My name is Emi," no surname, of course.

"He's in his room, find an excuse and get in there," L said through the earpiece.

"I'm working as an intern for the Police force, Mister Soichiro Yagami needs his laptop and I was told to pick it up here. May I come in?"

They younger girl was flustered and invited her in easily as Soichiro and L watched behind the television. There was something about the way Elaine moved that made her look completely in place and immediately put the Yagami household at ease, as if it was a relative that had walked in and not a practical stranger. She quickly told them that Soichiro would be arriving quite late and needed her to pick up several things, and then insisted to gather them herself.

"The room to your left," L instructed.

She took a deep breath. _Let's do this._

0-0

A knock on the door startled the tall, lean brown haired young man. He automatically shot a look at Ryuk and inconspicuously moved his eyes to the door. It wasn't Sayu, and it wasn't his mother…"Hello?"

The door creaked open, and a girl walked in. He immediately thought she was on the Task Force, sent here to spy on him…but even for the police, she looked too young. She obviously wasn't Japanese, but her accent was flawless as she apologized. "I'm sorry, I was looking for your dad's room," she said with a shy smile.

Even in the dimly lit room, her eyes seemed incredibly light in contrast to her darker hair and black clothing. Light blinked. _Who was she_? She couldn't be that much older than him, but any thought of her being an officer disappeared. She was too exposed, too vulnerable. Her eyes weren't guarded or calculated.

"It's right across the hallway," he said slowly and got up. He was easily taller than her, but the way she looked up at him showed that she wasn't at all intimidated. "But may I ask who you are?"

She blinked, as if confused. Ryuk chuckled behind him. "Oh! Of course, right." She stammered just slightly, and ran her fingers through her hair nervously. "You can call me Emi, I'm an intern at the station. You're the chief's son, Light, right? Your father asked me to pick up his laptop so…"

"You're an intern? I've never seemed you around." Light stated, his voice non-accusing but hesitant. He was still trying to figure out who she was and it frustrated him. Why was it so hard to tell whether or not she was undercover? "I've worked on several cases before."

"I only recently started," she admitted and looked away uncomfortably. His eyes narrowed, wondered if he caught her in a lie. He decided to push her, stress out L who was surely watching them from the cameras.

"I don't suppose it's because of the Kira case?"

She stopped.

And then ever so quickly, she flashed him a playful smile. "So you know about it."

She _was _working for the Task force after all. But what were they doing – sending something so obvious? Was this a test? Either way, he had to act normal, as if he wasn't the culprit. "Well, my father _is _the chief. But why would a young lady like you want to get mixed up with the whole Kira business?"

Elaine wanted to roll her eyes at the way Light had said 'young lady' as if it was a full blown compliment that usually made little girls giggle. And by his looks, she suspected it usually did. "I'm not, actually," she lied easily, "to be completely honest…there's only one reason why I decided to do the internship now."

"For Kira?" He asked. Curiosity was normal; it couldn't be used against him.

She grinned at him, and for a moment – the death note, L, Kira, the entire business was forgotten. That was, until she spoke again. "No," she said and he blinked, "I'm actually tracking down L."

0-0

"Ah," her partner's voice filled her ears, "good lie."

"You want to meet L?" Light repeated, confused. This was one thing he had not expected her to say…it was really starting to irritate him how unsure he was of the entire situation.

"You have no idea how much." She sighed and leaned back against the door. "Ever since I was young I've been building up all the skills to be good enough to work with him, and the closest thing I get is this – as a part time intern." She seemed genuinely deflated. And for whatever reason, Light believed her.

"So you're doing all of this just to work with some detective?"

"Uh – no. Not just some but the greatest," she corrected. A smile pulled up on the corners of her lips, and L had a feeling it was directed towards him. Like an inside joke they shared. "Well, I'm famished. Do you mind if I have some?" She asked but was already moving towards the bag of potato chips. Light's eyes sharpened and immediately, he snatched the bag and crumpled it, throwing it into the trash. She stared at him with wide, amused eyes. _Got you._

"Sorry about that, I meant to throw it out."

_Liar, what a horrible liar you are._

"I think that's enough for now, you should leave before it's too obvious." L said quietly.

"It's fine! But I'm still pretty hungry, so I'll just pick up the laptop and get out of your way. It was nice meeting you, Light," she said with another smile.

"You too, maybe we should grab lunch another time." He had to look more carefully into this girl.

"I'd like that." She said but as she closed the door, her pale eyes moved up towards the camera and for that instant, it was as if she was looking right at L. And he just sat – a lose concept – behind the screen, staring after the girl that yet again, impressed him.

Somehow, she had baited out Light Yagami.

0-0

"Well done," L complimented. He felt like she was smiling through the earpiece. He turned around and saw Soichiro looked at the young detective oddly. "Yes, Mister Yagami?"

"I don't see why this is good news," he said, "It's not as if she lured out Kira – she just agreed to go out with my son."

"Well your son may be Kira," L stated, looking at the donuts he was picking at. He could hear the father gasp and clench his fist, looking away. "Or he may just be any other boy." He said, more for the sake of Soichiro than his honest belief. He threw a piece of the glaze bakery sweet into his mouth before shrugging. "Either way, we should find out soon enough."

* * *

I haven't updated this a lot, but I figured since it was New Years, why not?

Things are finally starting up between Light and Elaine, hopefully I got his character right! If not, _please _tell me how to keep him more OC. As any other authors here, reviews are greatly appreciated!


	4. Chapter 3: An Odd Behaviour

CHAPTER THREE: AN ODD BEHAVIOUR

"I don't know about this," Elaine bit her lip, "it seems too risky."

"It would throw him off his game," L muttered exasperatedly. The younger girl always felt the need to protect him from the outside world which he found completely unnecessary. But looking at her as she stared at him with large, grey eyes, he sighed. "All a part of the investigation, Elaine."

"I guess," she mumbled and passed him a pair of shoes. "Good look with your speech, I'll be waiting outside." She crossed her arms and watched as the underdressed man entered the auditorium. A tedious amount of time passed by until the ceremony was over. She made sure to wait until L's Mercedes pull away for several minutes until she walked into Light.

"Hey, Light!" She waved enthusiastically. He looked at her, blinking as if he had woken out of a dream.

"Emi," he said and found himself smiling. Deceiving. His false calm cover was cracking by the second as he considered the possibilities of his next move. It was suspicious that the same day L had revealed himself…that this girl would pop back into perspective. "What are you doing here?"

She handed him a gift. "Your father asked me to send you this. Congratulations on the acceptance." She tilted her head, noticing his distress. "Is there something wrong?" She asked, playing innocent. She touched his arm and his eyes widen a fraction in surprise at the contact.

"No, not at all," he said and she almost believed him.

She stared at him carefully and then smiled. "Well, we should go celebrate! If I remember correctly, you promised me lunch."

"Oh, and here I was thinking you just forgot."

She smiled shyly at him. "So?" He looked away and she noticed that he really _was _handsome. How could someone with such a good life – being not only relatively wealthy, attractive _and _a genius – decide to be a mass murder? Decide to play God? Then again, it made all too much sense. He was probably bored…after all, he was stuck with high schoolers that were nowhere _near _his level. Once someone was held so high, it was no wonder why he would feel alienated. She felt a pang of pity. Maybe he just needed a –

"Sure," he shrugged, "I don't see why not." For the first time in awhile, he was making a move that wasn't related to the Kira case and it felt oddly…refreshing.

Twenty minutes later, Light stopped at a café. "Let's go in –"

"Oh come on, you just made top marks into your university and you want to celebrate with sweets? I think this calls for a four-star restaurant, _at least_." She tugged at his wrist and kept him walking until they reached a rather fancy restaurant. It felt odd for him to not be the one calling shots. In fact, it _really _bothered him how he didn't get a say in the situation but they had already arrived. The waitress guided them to their private booths almost immediately.

"Don't you have to go work?" He asked as he sat down. She laughed but didn't miss the edge to his tone.

"No, not really. All I do is wait around at headquarters until they need something."

He didn't comment, his eyes on the menu. She stared. He seemed…not quite cold, but detached. Quickly she analyzed his profile: was he a psychopath? No remorse or empathy over those he murdered? Or maybe he simply wasn't Kira. The waitress was at their table immediately, pouring water. "I'll have the medium rare filet mignon with a side of baked potato." He said in a clipped manner as he handed the booklet back to her. Elaine narrowed her eyes. Everything about him screamed out "I have the world at the tips of my fingers" sort of superiority. She didn't even glance at the menu and murmured, "I'll just have the green salad."

"Right away."

"Did you eat before?" He asked, not very curious but he felt the need to have a conversation going. Maybe she _was _simply a girl trying to meet L…and after meeting the strange man today, he needed all the information he could gather. Maybe Emi would be useful.

"No," she said and she sounded distracted as well.

"A salad will hardly fill you up." He commented and at this, her pale grey eyes sharpened and she beamed at him.

"I'm a vegetarian," her smile widened, "I just want to minimize the amount of deaths I cause."

_Take that, Kira._

He stilled momentarily but it was nothing too suspicious. "Minimize? How many deaths do you usually cause?" She laughed genuinely at the sincerity in it caused him to look up at her. He felt his mouth tug at a smile.

"Only those who deserve it." She said sort of wistfully, with yet another smile. He raised his eyebrow. That _was _an odd thing to say and he decided to use it against her. "That's the sort of thing Kira would say, isn't it?"

"But I'm not Kira so it's fine." She said in such a casual manner to brush off his accusation. The waitress returned and laid the food on the table, asking if they wanted anything else and they both said "No" quickly. Elaine stabbed her fork into the salad before declaring it unappetizing and pushing it aside. She leaned in towards him. "So how exactly is everything going?"

"If you're referring to entering college…I'm not worried."

"Of course not," her grin widened, "it's very easy."

Which brought up another question. "Exactly how old are you, Emi?" He asked. Their plates were both against the wall, neither of them eating. She raised an eyebrow. Thankfully Kira didn't exactly need an age to kill and she didn't seem the harm in telling him the truth. "Eighteen." So she was only a year or several months older than him…he could work with that.

"So I'm assuming that you scored perfect on your entrance exams?" She asked.

He shrugged for a modest answer, but everything about his body language screamed out a superiority complex. "High school must have been a breeze," she guessed.

"It was boring…not quite everything I thought it would be when I was a kid." He admitted. She grinned.

"It was a horrible experience for me," she said honestly, "I got so bored that I would just think about ways to kill myself in the midst of class just for the sake of doing something. I don't know how I survived a term of it, let alone you – who endured years of it." She said with a sort of wise but bitter tone. He was surprised. She had summed up his thoughts about the entire experience: painfully boring.

"A term? You must have been pretty smart."

"I wasn't," she laughed and she honestly wasn't. When Watari had taken care of her at the orphanage, it wasn't because she was a genius like L. She simply saw relationships between people, events and numbers very clearly. It was a skill incredibly useful when solving cases.

Light looked at the woman in front of him. He had a feeling she would answer any question she had. After all, that was normal in dates, right? Being curious? "So where are you from anyway? You aren't Japanese, I can tell that much."

"No," she laughed, "I'm not. I just had a very good teacher." It made no difference if Light – or Kira – knew where she was from. He won't be able to track her back. "I was raised in England but I've travelled a lot."

"Wealthy parents?" He assumed. Her lips twitched as she fought back a smile.

"Oh no," she said cheerfully, "they're dead. Been dead for awhile, actually." And she said this so in such an entertained tone that it caught him off guard. "Relying on trust funds."

"Oh," he said thoughtfully, "sorry, I didn't know."

"Of course you wouldn't," she shrugged. She barely knew her parents and it was hard to mourn over something she never cared for. "How about you, being the son of Chief Officer? Must be easy…what with being a genius and all."

He laughed and leaned back. How many times had he been called that? Had proved that he was more than just intelligent? But yet the way she said it sounded so sarcastic that it surprised him. "The pressure isn't anything I can't handle," he simply commented, amused.

"Are you planning to join the police later?"

"I was thinking about it." He said as her phone rung and she held up an index finger. After several seconds of a buzzing noise, she nodded and said, "Yeah sure" before turning off her phone.

"I'm sorry but I have to leave." She said with an apologetic smile. She got up and left money on the table. "I'll catch you later, Light." He got up as well and for some reason, he held out his hand. She raised an eyebrow but shook it nonetheless but he was fairly sure her hand lingered longer than necessarily.

It wasn't until he was left looking after her that he realized that this had been a completely normal lunch. She hadn't gathered information on him. He didn't have to use his head…just a casual event. It wasn't calculated or planned. And with the entire revelation of L's identity…he realized that he needed more moments like this just to clear his mind.

0-0

"And where have _you _been?" L asked as Elaine walked by the room and threw herself on the couch. She didn't ask for permission and dug into the sweets. She was _starving_. Icing sugar all over her mouth, she said in a muffled tone, "I caught up with Light after your ceremony."

"And did you find anything out?"

"You were right," she swallowed and licked her lips, "he did seem shaken up a bit. But he seemed to relax after we ordered food." She informed him, proceeding finishing off the sugar on her finger tips. L didn't react.

"You had lunch?" He simply asked.

"Mhm."

"That could be quite dangerous, Ellie."

She didn't miss his use of her nickname. "I don't think Light is very dangerous actually," she said, her eyes down and placed the dish back on the table. "Maybe he just feels set apart from everyone. From what I've gathered, he seems _too _smart and I'm sure that being a genius is not only boring but quite lonely as well."

"You _are_ aware that Kira is perhaps someone very childish and playing God, right?" There was disbelief in his flat tone and his black eyes were looking at her without amusement. Deflated.

"We play God all the time, Lawliet," she said breezily since there was no one else in the room. "We've sent people to their deaths plenty of time, how is that any different than Kira?"

There was silence between them. "You're behaving strangely," he murmured at last, his dark eyes studying her. He took a step closer to her - too close - and she knew that he was trying to throw her off. Her lips twitched and for a moment, she simply does nothing. Then she groaned and abruptly fell back on the couch, curling up away from him. "I'm just tired of all this…thinking."

"Then don't think," he advised, "just befriend Light and get him to admit that he is Kira and this would all be over." She laughed.

"Maybe he isn't Kira, maybe he's just a smart individual who happens to be on the manipulative side. There are thousands of people like that." She turned, facing him with a sleepy, shy smile. His eyebrows pulled together. Was Elaine _defending _Light? Strange. Very, very strange.

"Maybe you're right," he nodded, "or maybe Light is a mass murderer who you are beginning to sympathize with because you two happen to share common traits."

Her eyebrows shot up.

"Common traits?" She sat up. "_I'm _manipulative?"

"You _are _having lunch with him to gather more information," he reminded her in a serious tone and the surprise left her face to be replaced with a glare. All of her emotions were bizarre and he couldn't quite figure out _why _she was being so moody all of a sudden. He had known her while she was at the awkward stage of fifteen but never once had she displayed such emotions. The Elaine of the past three years had been bright and eager to help, an asset. Now she was…

Strange.

"You don't call a friend manipulative, L," she said dryly and stood up as well. In one quick stride, she left the room. Yet another man was left staring after her, wondering if maybe she was on her _time of the month_.

* * *

A bit of a longer chapter, but hopefully, Light's and L's character is still believable considering the longer dialogues they're having. Alsooo I just want to thank

0neLife-0neLove  
Guests  
Valerie Michaelis  
Raminder Singh  
thisisianhecox  
Forever-Bucksin  
Urameshigirl14

for all the review(s) and support! I'm glad people are actually reading this! Reviews are golden. :)


	5. Chapter 4: A Push

CHAPTER FOUR: A PUSH

For several days, Elaine hauled herself up in her room for what she claimed was independent research but the Task Force and L included all knew that she was just there, sleeping and moping. She felt genuinely bad from her little argument with not only her best but only friend. But being an eighteen-year old female, she couldn't be the first to cave in.

It wasn't until L left for To-Oh that she stepped out of the room. The officers seemed surprise to see her all messy-haired and back in the boxer shorts and short sleeve shirt. She ran her fingers through her hair and yawned before sitting in front of Soichiro. Her eyes flickered up towards the man worriedly. "Are you alright?" She asked. "Maybe you should take a break."

He exhaled noisily. "Ryuzaki is out there investigating _my son_ as we speak." He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. "To even think that Light is responsible for murdering dozens –"

"But we're not –"

"I know," he said brusquely, "but yet Ryuzaki is only taking leaps like this towards Light and that shows that he believes my son is Kira over all the others that we are currently investigating." He looked up at the young girl in front of him agitatedly, desperate for a new perspective. "Tell me, Emiko, what do you think?"

Should she tell him the truth? She sighed and scratched her head habitually. This was a full grown man, and she shouldn't worry about hurting his feelings. "To be honest, Light is more likely to be Kira than everyone else I'm looking into. There's just something…curious about your son."

Soichiro closed his eyes. He had been working day in and out doing what – helping them _prove _that his own flesh and blood was behind all these murders. Both L and his counterpart seemed to reach the same conclusion and the more time he spent holed up in this dark apartment, the more he felt as if his head was going to explode.

"You're wrong," he said lowly. Then he shot up immediately – and he felt it, like an overwhelming pressure against his chest. His hands flew over his heart, his fingers digging in despite the fact that it felt like someone was already squeezing his heart and then his arms began tingling.

"Mister Yagami?" She stood up worriedly.

He was frozen, his hands tight around the arm chair. A side of him went numb and his chest felt constricted but he managed to pant an accusation before he collapsed into her. "It's, It's Kir –"

Her eyes were wild and alarmed. Then, she was shouting. "Watari - help!"

0-0

Elaine waited outside the hospital room, holding the jacket tight to her. She looked like a mess and she felt incredibly guilty. Even though the doctors claimed the heart attack was due to stress, she felt like she was the one who truly pushed Soichiro to this point. Her hands shook and she was biting on her nails nervously waiting for L to arrive. But when he does, he and Light rush pass her and into the room without even sparing her a glance.

God, she felt horrible.

And when the nurse looked at her and told her visiting hours were over, she wanted nothing more than to follow her friend out, get into the car and curl up in a ball next to L. But for the second time, he couldn't look at her or else Light may know her true role in the entire case. She watched as Light and he talked but she didn't intrude. Right now, she felt more worried about Soichiro than furthering her investigation.

It wasn't until the car left that she approached Light. "I'm sorry about your father," she said and her voice was small and quiet. He looked down at her and she seemed genuinely worried. Things were going exactly the way he wanted to and now, he was without a doubt that she wasn't one of L's tool. Strangely enough, he was in a good mood. Everything was going as planned.

"It's not your fault, Emi." He said kindly, touching her shoulder. "The Doctor's said it was stress related."

"I know, but…"

"But?"

She sighed. "Nothing." She ran her fingers through her hair nervously and looked around. Then her pale eyes flickered up to the boy in front of her, the one with a stoic expression, with the honey brown hair and same coloured eyes. "I'll walk you home." Light offered once he stared down at this girl with nothing but a jacket around her. Ryuk cackled behind him.

"Thank you," her voice was soft, "I'd like that." They turned and began walking, neither of them saying anything yet ever so casually, she slipped an arm through his. He inhaled sharply at her touch and he was well aware of the heat that radiated from her but decided to say nothing. Whether it was out of politeness or his own bewilderment, for once – Light did not know.

Ryuk laughed louder.

0-0

L didn't knock on her door as he entered and she groaned, pulling the blanket over her. He moved to her side and stood there, waiting until she couldn't ignore him any longer. "You are acting so strange," he said with a frown. He picked up an abandoned fork and stabbed it through a strawberry on a plate that lay by the side of her bed, chewing it thoughtfully before continuing. "It's not because of Soichiro, is it? He's recovering well."

"I don't like this case." She said abruptly, sitting up. "I don't like working with the father of who we think is the culprit. I want to go back to America – England, France, whatever – and find the bad guy who is _clearly _the bad guy and bring him to jail."

"Are you saying Kira may not be the bad guy?" He asked curiously, his eyes on the fruit in front of him as he moved the fork around with a bored expression. She groaned again and buried her face back into the pillow.

"You see? Too complicated. Can't we just leave?"

"You know very well that I can't just quit," he muttered. After all, since when did he ever fail? And this case with Kira felt oddly personal and there was no way he was going to lose a person like Kira. He had already put too much in the line and he wasn't going to let that go to a waste just because his partner felt too closely connected to the unsub.

He glanced around at her messy room, at the uneaten tray of food. If he didn't know Elaine better, he would suspect her of being depressed: the lack of interest in things she usually enjoyed (e.g. eating sweets) and the increased amounts of sleep were fairly common indications. "You've been sleeping a lot."

"And you don't sleep."

"I've never slept."

"It still doesn't lessen the point," she sighed and got up. Her hair fell over her shoulders as she crossed her legs, sitting up and facing him. He sat – or rather stepped on the bed and crouched – in front of her. "But I haven't been starving myself of nutrients," he countered.

"Right, because you eat _so _healthy." She retorted. Her odd behaviour hadn't last too long, but the fact that she was inactive was completely out of character. Maybe she just needed a little push. He stared at her.

"If you eat, I'll sleep." He murmured, his thumb against his lips as he watched her reaction carefully.

Her eyes widened. "…Seriously?"

"Sure," he stood up, overshadowing her and slipped his hands into his pockets. She had to crane her neck to look up at him, but his black eyes were wandering and he scratched his wild, bed head hair. "I think it's a fair deal."

She didn't look like she believed him but she reached over to the bedside and took the crepe that Watari had left for. It was a peanut butter and banana crepe – one of her favourites – and it didn't take her too long to finish the whole thing. Five quick bites and a lick of her finger, she was already patting excitedly down on the bed beside her. The familiar excitement that shined in her eyes didn't go unnoticed. "Sleep. Now."

It was his turn to stare. His tone was apathetic. "You do realize that we're still conducting the investigation outside…right?"

She didn't seem bothered, only more excited. For the past years, she had never seen L lie down in bed before and the prospect of that brought back a glow in her that had been dimmed since the guilt of Soichiro's heart attack. He sighed when he realized that she was too determined to give up now. Awkwardly, he sat…and then straightened out his legs…and then rolled to his side. She watched his body move with a giggly excitement. He stretched for her benefit and groaned slightly. "I'm not very comfortable, Ellie."

She laughed and snuggled under the covers next to him. She didn't feel awkward at the proximity at all and thought the entire thing was a milestone. "Just close your eyes," she said with a little smile but his insomniac-dark-as-night eyes didn't stop peering at her. For awhile, they just stare at each other, waiting for the other to give up…but both were much too stubborn for that.

It was L who gave up first. "This isn't working out." He declared and swung his legs over the bed and got up. He was back to his odd, arched back standing as he waited at the door. "Now are you coming out?" He asked his hands in his pockets.

She laughed, as she ran her fingers through her hair. She looked better – tired, but better – as she breathed in deeply. She allowed herself to stare at the odd detective a bit longer than usual. He was caring, she realized, and dedicated. She was used to his devotion going towards solving cases but this was a _different _type of keenness. "Actually," she said slowly, her ash coloured eyes never leaving his, "I think I am going to pay Light Yagami a little visit."

* * *

The idea of L lying on a bed was just too tempting to not throw that in. Still, it played out fine in my head...but whether or not it's just an impossibility, do tell!

Thanks you, lovelies, for reading. Update in several days :)


	6. Chapter 5: The Escape (I)

CHAPTER FIVE: THE ESCAPE (I)

"Emi?" Surprise was clear on Light's face as he opened his door wider. "What are you doing here?"

She smiled at him but it didn't reach her eyes. "I'm just checking in. I know that your mother is at the hospital with your father, so I thought you wouldn't mind me coming over with some hot food."

He laughed, but like her, it wasn't genuine. "Thanks, that's really thoughtful of you." She unzipped her boots and stepped inside his house. Even though she claimed that she didn't date younger guys, her clothing disagreed. He appreciated that she didn't dress desperately but the cut and translucency of her blouse and skin-tight jeans were made to tease. She held up a bag and this time, her smile was genuine. Her steel-coloured eyes lit up and he inhaled sharply.

She was, well, lovely. Beautiful, even.

"So, how does Italian sound?"

0-0

"Hey, what's going on?" Sayu blinked, confused. There was her brother – her good looking but usually unaccompanied older brother – laughing and leaning towards the woman from before. He turned his head and threw his arm over her chair to face the door. "Oh you're home? I thought you were out with your friends." Sure this sounded all normal...except that he was speaking in English. With _Sayu._

For the past two hours since Elaine - or rather Emiko - had arrived, they started talking about themselves...about their background, their schooling and everything. Elaine had gathered pretty much the basics: the typical genius that excelled in everything. Smart, handsome, clever, intuitive, athletic and not to mention he was the type of boy that can capture anyone's interest in a snap. When she discovered that he spoke someone what English, it was like a break for her mind - at last, no more Japanese!

It was beneficial for both to converse in her native tongue, but it seemed like Light had troubled switching back to Japanese. She giggled and Light's almost golden brown eyes flickered back to her before turning to his sister and easing back to Japanese.

This was _too _weird for her. "Yeah well, I got hungry." She leaned over and Elaine waved at her pleasantly. "What are you guys eating here?"

"We're having –" She stopped immediately, her phone vibrating in her pocket. "Excuse me," she murmured and felt bad for leaving. But it was L's name on the screen and she knew it was important. She stepped into the washroom. "What's wrong?"

"Are you still at the Yagami's house?" He asked and his voice was shaking just slightly. It was the tiniest of tremble but she immediately picked it up. L, despite his odd habits, was always confident and anything _but _that was foreign to her.

"Yes, what happened?" She whispered, scared of being overheard.

"There's a broadcast at Sakura station, I can handle the situation but please make sure you don't leave the house." He was rushing. Lawliet, the world's best detective, the only person she knew that was always cool and measured was stressed out. For the hundredth time, she wondered how deep they were getting into the Kira case. If there was one thing she knew for sure, it was that this case was different. It was going to change something, somehow and it was starting with L's confidence.

She was more confused than anything at the moment. "Of course, but it's so far away you shouldn't even have to worry. Law-Ryuzaki, what's happening?"

There was silence on the other line, but when he spoke, his voice was low. "We've just lost Ukita and several other police officers as well." She gasped and was about to ask for more but he continued. "Kira is making a public threat but I don't want you to worry. I'll have things under control, just stay safe."

"But how? I'm right here – Light is –"

"This can all be discussed later. Just don't worry. More importantly, don't leave the house until tomorrow morning once I've confirmed that this _Kira _is done with killing people. Understood?"

He really _was _worried about her. She closed her eyes. "Understood." More silence passed and she thought he forgot to hang up until very quietly, he said, "Be safe." And the line ended.

Light and his sister were talking when Elaine walked back outside. Light noticed the frantic look in her eye immediately. "What's wrong?"

"Turn on the TV, Sakura channel."

"…_There you have it. The police refused to cooperate with Kira, instead they are preparing to fight. And, as much as I fear for my own life in saying so, this is right – and it must be done. Kira has become a threat to our very constitution and as citizen, we must fight back. I am NHN golden news anchor…"_

Light froze. How could this have all happened? It was _none _of his doing. How could he have possibly missed out on all these events? And as he turned back to the nervous dark haired girl, he knew exactly how he had been so distracted: because of Emiko. His eyes turned to his sister darkly. "Suyo, go upstairs."

"Hey! You can't just –" She argued but then stopped when she noticed her brother looking intensely at the dark haired woman, she sighed. She mumbled to herself but ran upstairs anyway.

"It was the Task Force that called, wasn't it?" His voice was shady.

She nodded. Having Light see the broadcast wasn't anything that would change the investigation, he had been under her watch throughout the entire thing. Although the broadcast didn't require his knowledge to be shown, she was sure that he would like to say his handiwork displayed. Yet he looked genuinely surprised…

"This whole case is getting out of hand," she sighed and sat down on the couch.

"Do you regret getting involved?" She told him she joined so that she could meet the renowned detective and now that Light knew his identity…he lost that common ground with her. Her eyebrows pulled together.

"A bit," she admitted and it was the truth. She came to sympathize with Light and maybe even wished that he _wasn't _Kira. "I didn't expect it to get this complicated."

"Well you _are_ going up against a criminal who's been killing a bunch of other criminals with seemingly no effort at all."

"Not just criminals," she said quietly, "officers too."

He blinked. "Are you afraid of dying?" He asked, genuinely curious. She winced and again she said, "a bit."

But he, as Kira, knew that this was one person he would not kill. After all, even though she was a part of the case, Emi had somehow become his escape from the Deathnote world. "Maybe you should stay here for the night, until things settle down." He offered and later that night, Emiko - to her insistence - was snuggling up on the couch. She was very aware of the fact that over her head on the second floor, Light was asleep and it felt so odd for her...like they were friends. Relationships like that didn't come by very often for her. Like L, they had been a nomad recluse constantly on the move with no time to build let alone maintain relationships with others. She sighed.

She just wished that this friendship was real.

* * *

Thanks so much for all the feedback, and for everyone that favourited/followed this story! :D That means so much, especially this was suppose to be a little side break from my other fanfics, but people actually _enjoyed _this so I'm excited to carry out this story!

Reviews would be lovely and motivational. :)


	7. Chapter 6: The Escape (II)

CHAPTER SIX – THE ESCAPE (II)

Warm, orange sunlight spilled into the room as the men watched the message intently, their hearts racing. _"…the director general, or L. Who would pay the price for the refusal to cooperate the creation of a peaceful world? You have four days to decide."_

"No."

They all turned the woman breathlessly at the door, whose eyes were wide and her breathing panicked. L, who had been staring at the screen with his thumb against his lips only flicker his eyes towards her. She ignored the others and rushed up to her partner. There was an unstable glint in her eyes as she slammed the door behind her. "I know what you're thinking, Ryuzaki, but I don't _care_if you're –"

He got up slowly but she was already cut off. Grabbing her by the wrist, he took the too emotionally-invested girl into a separate room. Watari cleared his throat.

The young detective took his time closing the door, not facing her until he sighed and turned around. As if a spell had been broken, she was frantic again. "I know that _you_know that the police would choose to sell you out before their stupid director general and I told you from the _very start_to not die. If all the thinking I've done last night is the same as yours – as it so often is – we both know that this…this Kira needs only a face and I will _not_ let you –"

"Ellie," he said and because he used her nick name, she breathed just slightly, "do you honestly think I'll throw away my life so carelessly?"

She could only stare and he sighed. Looking down at those scared, gray eyes, he thought of only one, sensible solution. For a brief second, he imagined the 6 year old version of this woman who would stare up at him with such an eager expression, as if his approval meant the world to her. And behind the tiny girl was the backdrop of a stomach-dropping familiar orphanage. "Do you still want to return to England?"

This broke her out of her panic attack. Her eyebrows knit together and she paused momentarily. "What?" Was this a joke, where did it come from? "Now?"

"Yes." His tone was distracted and he remembered the day he left the Orphanage, at the way she puffed up indignantly before her forehead would crease. She didn't cry though. Elaine never did. Not even when she was in danger…and he didn't want to risk it further. "Now."

"I –" Now presented with the opportunity, she couldn't possibly do it. "Why?"

"It's unsafe."

And then she realized where he was going with it and laughed. "You're crazy," she said slowly, her eyes never leaving his, "if you think you can just ship me back and continue this alone."

"Then I'm crazy."

She stared at him for a moment longer and then left him, returning back to the task force. All of the men gawked, wondering what the hell had happened in the past few seconds. She ignored the man behind her completely. "We still have several days to think of a counter measure," she began as he sat down on the chair and started on his overly sweet coffee, allowing her to take control momentarily. "I'm fairly sure who Japan would choose given the options presented but obviously, we're not going to let Ryuzaki get killed by Kira's little fan."

They gasped. "Fan?"

She was looking straight at L, who seemed amused that they shared the same idea. Amused, but not surprised. He began picking at the cake as the Task Force tried to catch on. "Emi, what do you mean by that?"

"There's a strong possibility that this Kira is fake." She stopped, shaking her head. "No, more like a second kira."

"A second kira?" They repeated. "I-I don't understand, why do you think there's a copy cat? How do you come to that conclusion?"

"Well think about it." Given her speciality of being able to detect relationships, it made was clear to her. "This Kira felt the need to prove himself by killing media figures whereas the first Kira killed only criminals or those that he feel would oppose him."

L stopped playing with the strawberry on the cake. "I agree." His dark eyes met Elaine's gray ones. "I really don't like the way he operates. It's not like Kira. In the past, he has traditionally avoided killing innocent people – with the exception of those who are trying to catch him – anyway, if we can capture one Kira, I think it would provide us with a lot of in sight as to how we can find the other one."

"Yes, thank you for repeating me." She said, irritation still edged in her tone. His eyes flickered up to her and he simply bit into his cake theatrically to acknowledge her before turning to Soichiro. "Mister Yagami, I'd like your permission to ask your son to cooperate with us on this mission." L asked. Once he said it was up to Light, Elaine stood up immediately.

"I'll go pick him up." She offered quickly. She needed time away from the apartment to think of a retaliation plan towards L's irrational decision but as his eyes slid to her direction, he called out, "And don't forget to pick up your plane tickets."

She glared at him. He looked back down at his cake as he murmured quickly, "Or I can order them myself, of course."

* * *

Update! This is the week before exam, so don't expect anything until next Saturday when it's all over...or I don't know. Good luck on all of your exams, if you're taking them! Reviews are motivating - thank you so much for all the lovely people who left their comments! I can promise you that despite this short chapter (I apologize) things will start to unfold and pick up. With my usual twist. :)

Hope you enjoyed!


	8. Chapter 7: Confrontations

CHAPTER SEVEN - CONFRONTATIONS

Elaine saw him walking home as she entered his neighbourhood. His eyes were down but they were far from timid looking. The falling sunset created almost a halo above his brown hair and she flinched. There was Light Yagami, walking as if he was the President. Walking like someone who had complete control over his life. Watching him from far was incredibly intimidating, and she had to remind herself that he was the same person she had laughed and talked with only several nights ago.

Maybe it was the news of her departure, but Elaine found it hard to be the clever girl people had known. Pulling an unconvincing smile on her face, she cupped her mouth and called out his name. "Hey, Light!" Despite her volume, there was tiredness in her tone. Several people turned but Light only stepped on his tracks slowly. His eyes widen a fraction when he saw her, and for a moment that mask of an expression slipped.

As they grew closer, it was harder for her to fake the cheeriness. Her lips twitched and she tried to smile but it was a failed attempt. "Guess what?" The smile pulled at her lips and she didn't seem happy yet still happy _for _him. "L asked you to join the Kira investigation." He blinked.

All along he had been trying to find a way to get involved in the investigation – but he never thought they would actually approach him. Now he would have access to all the classified information about the case, which meant that he could learn more about this other Kira…and he needed to figure what this imposter was all about before someone else on the Task Force would beat him to it.

"You're kidding."

Her smile almost looked genuine. "I'm not," she grabbed his hand, "come." Her hastiness didn't go unnoticed.

"Hey, are you all right?" He asked hesitantly and for awhile, she didn't answer. Then she sighed. She knew that L was dead serious when he said he planned to ship her back to England as if she was mere property. "I'm leaving," she said and her voice was sad but she was still smiling. _Leaving_? Those caramel coloured eyes of his seem to brighten up with alert.

"What?" He said too quickly. He blinked as if he was surprised with his reaction. "Why?" He said again, slower this time, more measured.

"My VISA expired." She lied and let go of his hands. His eyes narrowed, catching the lie immediately but he wasn't perturbed by it. He was curious, sure, about what she was hiding but he didn't press her on it. They walk in sunlight, drawing attention but there was an air around the two. They were complete out of it, lost in their own complexity that was their mind. When they arrive in front of the apartment, he spoke up. "You know," he said as he turned around, smiling at her, "I'm pretty sure L is behind this door. Maybe you can catch a glimpse before you leave."

She laughed despite herself, touching her hair tiredly. "I don't know –"

"Oh come on," he turned the door handle when he heard his father called him to come in, "why not?" But when the Task Force and Ryuzaki appeared, he turned around and Emi's expression didn't change. She only looked darkly amused. "So you're L," she commented dryly. The corners of the dark haired man's mouth pulled up in a smile as if they were in a horribly written scene.

"Now Light," he addressed the brown haired boy, "I don't quite remembering requesting a plus one."

"You're right," he laughed embarrassedly but didn't seem at all apologetic. He enjoyed playing a clueless university student, it made his cover seem more realistic...less like Kira. "I should have –"

"No, it's fine. Emiko, was it? Why don't you wait outside." He suggested, the hint of a smile still clear on his face. Even though Light was _right_ in front of them, she glared at him. L blinked, surprised at her hostility. "Or," he backtracked, "maybe you can join us. After all, you have been a quite dedicated and intelligent asset so far…"

"I can't," she smiled sweetly at him, "I'm being deported. Like a criminal."

"Shame." He forgot completely about Light's presence but knew he had to give him _some _attention. Seeming bothered, he turned back to him and held out his hand. "Thank you, Light." L's eyes flickered back to the dark haired girl behind him. Her gray eyes narrowed into a glare and since Light was faced away from her, Elaine made a face at her partner before flitting back outside to see Watari.

"You're not actually sending me back, are you?" She asked the older man nervously.

The old man's eyes crinkled, smiling warmly. "Of course not, it's not up to me."

She sighed, relieved – but he continued. "Now that's not to say that Ryuzaki won't take it upon himself to do so." At that, she groaned and he gave her a grandfatherly smile as he walked towards a tray. "Tea?" She stopped complaining and took a deep breath. "Sure," she said glumly, "it's been awhile, hasn't it?"

They sat on the table, and she honestly did love talking to Watari in her native tongue. It made everything slip away from her: the fact that they were in Japan, about Kira, about all these dying people. But their bubble burst as a video arrived and Watari wasn't the friendly grandfather anymore but instead, he was…Alfred Pennyworth.

"That's from the second Kira, I assume?" She frowned. Although the investigation was going on the other room, L made an honest effort to keep her updated with all they were doing. The video was streaming the same time it had in the other room. Elaine watched it carefully, frozen. This was…was too strange.

"…_Please tell me who I can meet you without the police knowing, you'll think of something. And when we meet, we can confirm our identities by showing our Shinigami to each other."_

And screaming erupted from the other room. Elaine shot up. "Emiko, stay!" Watari said, as if she was a dog. But that nervousness returned and they both knew that if she ran into that room, she would expose her identity. Her hands tightened around the edge of the table. It didn't matter how angry she was at L – when he was distressed, she wanted nothing more than to barge in and comfort him. She heard rustling, further chatter - but could not decipher it.

"Perhaps you should accompany the younger Mister Yagami home," Watari said slowly after a moment, knowing that she needed a break. Watari had seen her grow up, after all. She had always been happy but thrived in action and company. Elaine wasn't like L, she couldn't work constantly and he could see the strains breaking through her. She nodded but the nervousness from the pit of her stomach didn't disappear.

And later that night when they were finally done, Light's brown eyes widened when he saw the girl there still waiting for him. "It's my job," she simply shrugged but the anxiety ate away at her – and it was apparent. "Are you still thinking about the deportation?" He asked once they were far enough away from the hotel.

She blinked and looked at him, momentarily confused. "Hm? Oh. A bit."

"You didn't seem very impressed about meeting L," he commented with a hint of a smirk on his face. She still seemed side-tracked so he stopped walking and touched her shoulders. Suddenly her eyes sharpened and she looked at his hand before back up at Light.

"You must be pretty depressed about the whole thing to not even get excited about _that_," he continued, remembering how bright her eyes were when she told him she wanted to meet L. She shrugged slowly and seemed very young and vulnerable right then and there that he figured, _why not_? She could become a valuable person under his control later in the future, once L was defeated. She was someone he could potentially see still in the picture…someone he still _wanted _in the picture. "Do you need a distraction?"

"Do I ever," she sighed. He could imagine her being the distraction from the life of a God he would surely be living. He could pretend to be normal with her, she could help him pull a cover of a normal couple...in love...

And so he kissed her.

0-0

"Watari has finished packing up your bags, Ellie, and you should –" L stopped. His eyes narrowed. "Something happened." He said slowly, scratching his leg with his foot. Elaine appeared in front of him, looking nervous – something growing to be too common. But she didn't say anything as he crossed the distance between them and slipped her arms around him.

He was, to say the least, not expecting that. "Elaine," he said slowly, "_what _are you doing." The surprise in his voice was dead clear but he didn't touch her, his arms raised as if claiming he had nothing to do with her sudden embrace. But God help her if three years of never being a part for more than several hours and twelve years of history didn't entitle her to a hug, she didn't know what would. "I don't want to go," she whispered against his chest, "and you can't make me."

"Oh?" He challenged and she pulled back to look at him.

"I'm going to prove that Light is Kira," she stated. Her ash coloured eyes were bright and wide. She could not accept it if he wasn't…she didn't want to accept the fact that she had manipulated a boy that was completely innocent. If Light wasn't Kira, then she was simply a bad person…and she couldn't admit to that. She didn't _want _to be that. "And I'm not going to leave until –"

"There's only a 5% -"

"Lawliet." He was silenced. There was steel beneath the same coloured eyes and he sighed, fingering his unruly black hair. She could be such a…

"I. Am. Not. Property." She said, that same challenging look in her frantic eyes. "You cannot ship me out because we may be going up against two Kiras. I'm going to help you solve this case. Understand?"

He had never been treated like a child before, and it didn't surprise him that it would be Elaine to scold him. He looked down. "Understood," he muttered, not looking at her, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

She relaxed a bit, as if a great weight had been lifted off her shoulder. "Do you want to get rid of me that badly?"

"Yes." He said, ever blunt. She rolled her eyes exasperatedly and poked his chest while her face was lit with her first genuine smile in awhile. He didn't remember how or when those smiles became so rare – weren't they always present in the years before? He was fairly sure that she had smiled all the time for the past years and if there was one thing he didn't like about this case – aside from it being some sort of magical murderer – was that it was taking away this girl's glow.

"Well too bad," she insisted, "you're stuck with me."

* * *

Guess who just finished their exams? :) And guess who also failed them all :(

Here it is, a longer chapter! A longer...mildly eventful one too. Hope you enjoyed. Reviews would be lovely :)


	9. Chapter 8: The Girls

CHAPTER EIGHT - THE GIRLS

"Moon…Yagami, is it? You're the only one whose lifespan I can't see. He's Kira! I can't believe it! I never thought it would be this easy to find him…but…who's that?" Misa Amane beneath her short black wig and schoolgirl outfit narrowed her eyes.

Right next to Kira – who was so young and handsome – was a young woman with long, wavy dark hair and light eyes. Her name, Elaine…and her lifespan…"Misa, what are you thinking?" Rem asked. Although she was a Shinigami who was not disturbed by humans killing each other, she would find it just a bit odd that the nineteen year old girl would simply kill another female because she was touching Kira.

"Nothing," Misa said quickly. There would be no point in kill her _now_. "Alright Rem, time to go."

0-0

When Misa stepped out of her house to introduce Light Yagami, she knew exactly where she was going. It was creepy how much information she could purchase over the internet. As she walked by his neighbourhood, her eyes flicked up to see that girl – _that same girl – _walking the opposite way. But Elaine didn't know who Misa was, or her importance. So the girl simply looked at Misa with a curious expression and offered a smile. Her eyes almost looked silver under the lamppost. But that fleeting communication was just that – and Elaine turned a corner and left. Misa took a deep breath.

She had come from Light's house…at this hour?

It was fine, she told herself, Elaine wouldn't be a trouble for too long anyway.

0-0

The room was completely dark, with nothing but the light of the screen allowing them to see. Elaine nibbled at a red velvet cupcake as L took a bite out of a chocolate bar. They ignored the murmurs behind them – speculating about L's insomnia - as they watched the tapes from Aoyama. "How could I have possibly missed anything?" She whispered to herself, eyes intent on the screen.

"I don't blame you."

She closed her eyes for a brief moment. "I'll trail Light," she told him, "this time…I won't miss anything."

0-0

"Light."

He looked up.

"Light," the whisper continued. He looked up and stopped playing with his pen, his mind distracted from the day's plans. He looked at Kiyomi Takada, feigning interest while the other part of his brain distantly compared her to Emiko. They both shared the dark hair, but Kiyomo's eyes were dull in comparison to the Emi's.

"I thought you and I were seeing each other…that is, we are more than just friends, aren't we?"

"Yeah, we are." He wondered how a girl intelligent as Kiyomo couldn't hear the disinterest in his tone. Perhaps she was only book smart, but she didn't seem to be able to capture his attention easily as Emi tended too. He had to consciously remind himself that this woman had a reputation that he, as Light Yagami, should respect. But if it wasn't for Kiyomo's reputation and potential influence, Light would hardly look at her.

"Exactly and that's the reason why I'm sitting next to you in class. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Sure." The conversation felt like it was going nowhere.

"But you don't look like you enjoy being with me. I mean, you haven't even looked at me once!"

He inwardly sighed, wondering why women – especially at her age – were so needy. But he figured to play with her, see her reaction and prove his theory right. "That's not true at all." He said slowly as he straightened up. "I guess I was just been thinking about how everyone would be talking about us now…to think that I am actually going out with Miss Takada, the famous Miss Todai. I mean, you're the most beautiful woman at this school." It wasn't a lie. She was the most beautiful woman…at the _school_.

She coughed but he was sure that she was actually enjoying his compliment as so many others would. "Why do you even care about stuff like that? Besides, I hate being called Miss Todai or whatever…it's embarrassing."

He remembered when Emiko ranted about how she hated highschool. Maybe college wasn't very different after all. The only thing he found suitable of his time was trying to find a way to bring down L and continue with killing criminals from his Death Note. He didn't want to bother with girls like Kiyomi Takada. It was for reputation's sake. He was the genius, the perfect student – and it only made sense that this girl would be his counterpart. He had to at least _feign _an interest.

He could handle a college woman. A model, however, especially an over eager one was a whole other story. And later that night, when the blonde girl came tackling him to the ground, he wanted nothing more than to hit that her.

_Why can't everyone just be a little more like Emiko? _

0-0

"Lawliet," she said in a low voice once everything was gone, "just what are you playing at?" They were in her room, discussing the next move tomorrow at the University when she changed the subject.

"Hm?" He said, trying to sound innocent. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Baiting out Light…calling him your first friend." She raised an eyebrow.

"Do I detect a tone of jealousy?" He asked, amused. She narrowed her eyes but she didn't seem irritated at all by his assumption. "I figured it may confuse him and wouldn't do much harm." He admitted and she didn't seem very happy with this answer. "Besides, I _do _consider Light quite a good friend. On an intellectual competitive level, that is."

"And what am I, your monkey?"

He tilted his head and examined her. "More like a cat."

Her nose wrinkled and the ridiculousness of her expression teased a smile out of L. "Why can't I be a puppy instead?" She asked curiously as she ruffled through different sheets of paper. He simply _hm_'ed thoughtfully as he spun the fork around and stared at the ceiling. Elaine, a puppy? He shrugged.

"Puppies obey their human owner," he countered, "whereas cats just...run all over you and leave whenever they want. All they need from _their _owner is to be fed." He said with a tone of declaration. The mention of being fed caught her attention and she slit her eyes.

"Oh, fine. I'll _show _you how much of a cat I can be!" She exclaimed as she threw the papers down on the desk and stuck her arms straight out before _literally _rolling all over him. "El-Elaine!" He exhaled sharply, kicking back but there was a _girl rolling all over his lap_. Her loud, ringing laughter drowned out the room as she jerked around and twitched more like a fish out of water than a cat.

Suddenly an abrupt knock on the door froze her.

And in the next split moment, L shoved her off him. She let out a shriek as she fell to the ground but his voice was calm as he called out, "Come on in!"

"Hey," she pouted, blowing the hair from her face as she popped back up. She pulled her legs to a crossed position and leaned up to peak at the door to see the familiar old man walk in. Her face lit up - and she quickly glanced back at L, to see that he looked completely unfazed. Her smile dropped just as quickly as it appeared. Had she gone too far this time, too close?

"The finger prints just came back to the lab and we identified it with Miss Misa Amane," Watari told the two as he indicated at the screen. The two young detectives had mixed reactions – L narrowed his eyes and Elaine gasped. "I've seen her!"

"Where?" He asked immediately. "At Aoyama?"

She furrowed her eyebrows. "No, no…when I was leaving Light's house –"

"Light, hm?" L murmured and his eyes moved back to the picture of an attractive, smiling blonde. "So the Kiras met then." She nodded, assured. Finally – a break. And then she blinked and one hand slammed down on his arm as if she was having an epiphany. His eyes widened. "Ellie, what are you doing?" He asked slowly as if he was talking to the mentally unstable.

"If they met yesterday, I'm sure that Kira would be out to kill you as soon as possible." She paused and let him go, remembering the incident earlier yet the nervous glint in her eyes was ever present as she stared at him intently. "There's a real chance that you may just die tomorrow if either of them come into contact with you."

He didn't speak for awhile. "Then I'll just tell the Task Force to assume Light is Kira if that were to happen."

She groaned and bent back to grab a pillow before slamming it into him. Repeatedly. "You're not going to be sacrificed like that!" Despite her outburst, it was clear: she was really, really afraid for him. L didn't seem fazed and he allowed her to hit him several times before finally he rolled his eyes and took the pillow of her hand and threw it across the room while replacing it with a plate with a red velvet cupcake instead. She was still breathing heavily, her eyes too big and breathing too loud. She looked down at the dish as if it was a monster and placed it down hastily. "Lawliet, I don't want you dying as proof that Light is Kira. There has to be another way!"

"Maybe if I make a surprise attack," he murmured, his thumb by his lip as he forced himself to think for this girl's sake, "throw him off his game by _telling _him that if I die, it is enough proof that he is Kira – I'm sure the UN would believe me, anyway. I'm fairly sure the deaths will stop once Kira is executed. And knowing the second Kira's ability, if Misa were to arrive –"

"We could capture her too," she finished, the plan dawning on her, "even _if _Light isn't Kira, he can't do anything if the second Kira is unable to report back to him your true name." Her eyes flashed up to him and the anxiety was replaced by the familiar anticipation that he has known her for. "Cut off any source of contact between them while I'll go get the police, alright?"

He nodded and they both stood up. "I'll brief the Task Force."

She pulled out her phone, off to carry out the plans but stopped. "Wait!" She said and spun around. She stared at the tall, almost sickly looking man who was such a stark distinction with his messy, dark hair, plain white shirt and jeans. Her mouth twitched. This was the person she had known for so long…even when that simple white shirt of his was so incredibly baggy and don't even get _started _with his jeans. But yet something had changed sharply with each growing day of this Kira case, and she became uncharacteristically more unsure of its outcome.

With L, victory was always assured. So why was it...not this time around? Since when did defeat be an option, let alone their safety? "Be safe, okay?"

He rolled his eyes and her gray eyes widened. "Lawliet!"

He sighed. "Yes, yes," he said dismissively, "smile, will you?"

Because for God's sake he was beginning to miss it.

* * *

Because we all need some L moments to outweigh Light's first move. :)

Reviews would be lovely!


	10. Chapter 9: Confinement

CHAPTER NINE – CONFINEMENT

As soon as Elaine walked into the dark room only lit by the screen of a blonde girl bound and blindfolded, she left. It didn't sit in her stomach…it felt all too bizarre. "What's the matter, Emi?" Watari asked when she leaned against the closed doors. She took a deep breath.

"I can't watch this," she said quietly. "Watching a girl ask for death." Only seconds ago, he had to come in to prevent her from killing herself and understood her uneasiness. For a brief moment, he remembered when she was just a young orphan at his orphanage, always reading the newspaper and looking up recent events and biographies on the internet. It was like a game for her, providing suspects for the Police Force. She had done with such enthusiasm too, as if each connection was a prize.

She stood out at the Wammy's House. He remembered her very clearly but for a terrible reason…she was the only one that was really happy there. He remembered grave-faced children with minds of those decades older. They were all there for the same reason – because they were geniuses, yet she was the only child there with the same reasons Watari had when he built the orphanage. She was innocent, bright happy and although she was intelligent, she held onto that childish outlook on life that so many others lost. But nowadays, she only seemed tense.

Elaine fell, curling up and wrapping her arms around her knees. Watari sighed as he removed his gloves to hand her a cup of warm tea. "Ryuzaki knows what he is doing," he said kindly, "and I'm sure that he would appreciate your help."

She didn't respond for a long moment, simply enjoying the warmth of the beverage and he left her alone to think. After several minutes, she sighed and stood up and returned to the room tiredly. But Misa was completely different – no longer silent and depressed. She was…ignorant. "What happened?" It was as if Misa had flipped personalities.

"Mister Stalker? This is illegal – you have to stop. Okay, come on. Please?" Misa begged, breathlessly. Elaine's eyebrows pulled together. Was it possible that she _forgot _that she was being the second Kira? Because she definitely had to be, at least at first. Before she passed out, she was all too suspicious and acted the way the second Kira would. With each second, Elaine tried to process everything that was going on while completely blocking out the yelling going on.

"Isn't that what you want – isn't it? You pervert!"

Elaine blinked.

"I'm…a pervert?" L repeated and she looked at him, surprised. Despite everything, she giggled. Then her stomach growled but there was a noticeable lack of dessert in front of them. Her eyes met his black ones immediately. "Go eat." He simply said, "You're not going to miss anything." God knew that everyone in that room wanted her to leave and take a break. Dark shadows lined her vessel-cracked eyes and her hands were still shaky as she sighed and stood up in search for some food. When she returned, L was on the phone.

She was confused but there was one thing she caught on quickly. "Are you saying my son's coming here?" Soichiro asked solemnly. Elaine gasped and L was quick to explain.

"We have enough evidence and your cover is no longer necessary, I don't think it will matter if Light knows who you are." L muttered as the door opened. She was still panicked. She didn't want to be exposed as…as a police. She _liked _having Light as a friend but when the door opened and the tall, brown-haired young man appeared, she knew it was too late.

His brown eyes looked at her first before everyone else, and they had a moment of silent communication. She opened her mouth but didn't say anything. His eyes moved past her and then at the L, who stared at a blank screen. He stopped in front of the Task force. "Ryuzaki, like I said over the phone," he looked away from Elaine and at the ground.

"I could be Kira."

0-0

"I feel really uncomfortable," Elaine whispered for the thousandth time. Her eyes flickered between the blonde girl who was constricted beyond legally right, at an exhausted eighteen-year old boy, and a distraught father. Matsuda put a hand on her shoulder. "I know it's difficult but…we have too. For the case."

She glanced up at him and smiled sadly, nodding but when L turned he immediately knew that she was only putting up the façade for the remaining two officers of the task force. He could see her weariness growing. Not only had she became too close to Light, but she still felt guilt-ridden over Soichiro and just plain uncomfortable of watching a girl so close to her age being treated like that.

"The murders have stopped so we're close to completing this case," he said. "We're just waiting for a confession." He wanted to say her name – her real name – but it wasn't possible. Not when others were around. She winced. "I guess," she murmured softly.

But as the days continue and there was no change…her fatigue grew. "Lawliet," she said in a low voice now that both Matsuda and Aizawa were gone, "maybe Light is right. Maybe he _was _framed." His flip in behaviour was identical to Misa's – from acting the exact way a culprit may, to someone who was…well, innocent. There was no mistaking the look in his eyes when he said he wasn't Kira, and Elaine believed in.

She found it odd beyond possible understand, but she could trust him.

His behaviour didn't go by unsuspicious, of course. After weeks of growing closer to him, she immediately saw a new light to him. He seemed younger, more open and there wasn't even a second where she stopped and thought he may be Kira. And truth be told, those moments happened frequently in the past. Why was everything so confusing? It was as if everything shifted…as if Kira's power moved to another and took all memories along with it. And now…"Lawliet?"

"I know it's strange but –"

Two officers ran into the room, slamming the door open. "Ryuzaki, Emiko! What's going on? I just heard, two weeks' worth of criminals were just murdered all at once."

_What_?

Once again, her mind was thrown into chaos.

She stood up abruptly. "I need to go on a walk."

0-0

A month after, Elaine, despite her exhaustion with the entire case, still was sitting next to L. She wondered how he did it – all this work, all this thinking. There were more than several occasions when she would see L sit right in front of a screen and work case after case. His eyes would flicker through the files and an hour or so later, he would come to a conclusion and the case was solved – only for another one to replace it. And he would do that for fourteen hours straight.

She tried that once, tried devoting days into a case but she simply…couldn't. The longest she had gone was eight hours without moving from her seat, but then she fell asleep. In fact, she clearly remembered waking up complaining about her lack of dedication. She remembered asking L how he did it.

His response?

"If I sleep, more would die."

And with the new stress on this Kira case, she didn't want to rest either. She leaned on his shoulder, her eyes closed. "You're pushing them too far. The murders are continuing and that should be enough to prove that –"

"It sounds like you're just looking for any solution to end their confinement," he commented, his eyes down on the dessert in front of him, avoiding her. She was tapping her fingers against her leg impatiently. She didn't want to admit it, but Light _was _intelligent and she needed another asset to this case. For once, just Lawliet was not enough.

"Maybe you're stubborn." She mumbled.

At this, he looked up. "I thought you were certain that Light was Kira as well."

Pause.

"I was," she said but she sounded unsure, "but maybe…I don't know. But I don't see a point of keeping them in here." She admitted, rubbing her bare arms. There were goosebumps despite the well heated room, and it became all too clear she was getting ill. He could put up with Matsuda's complaining and Aizawa's grouchy side comments but Elaine's noticeable sunken health was something he wasn't secure with. And yet again, for her sake, he looked back at the screen and thought. He checked again on each of the suspects before speaking with Soichiro. "Mister Yagami."

The dishevelled man barely looked up. His voice was low and rough. "Yes, what is it?"

"Would you be willing to come to headquarters just once? I'd like to discuss my thoughts with you but it must be done in person. However above all else, I need to talk to you as Light's father." He said calmly and his eyes flickered over to Elaine, whose own gray eyes were lit with interest. She looked curious.

"Alright, I'll come." He agreed. Elaine let out a breath. At last – a change in pace.

* * *

The happy times are over - sorta. Reviews would be lovely :)


	11. Chapter 10: A New Start

CHAPTER TEN - A NEW START

Matsuda stared.

_This is weird_.

Never mind the fact that his boss was off pretending to murder his own son, but it was what he was watching in front of him that struck him silent. Ryuzaki and Emiko were both perched next together, a thumb lingered around their mouth as their hands curl up in a soft fist, listening intently to the speakers as the situation at the execution site unfolded in front of them.

Ryuzaki snapped up first when Soichiro finished the deed but it took several moments before Emiko looked like she finally absorbed what had happened.

"You're horrible," she sighed, "you really are."

0-0

It took three hours – three agonizing hours for them to return. Elaine anxiously paced around the hotel room, annoying her partner to no end. "Calm down, will you? Light is old enough to understand why you did what you did," Aizawa commented. She stopped and glanced out the window where a car drove in and her stomach dropped.

_This is it_.

And as Light Yagami walked in – showered and cleaned up – Elaine could only stare. She had been monitoring him for months nonstop, and the dimly lit screen of this brown haired boy in a jail cell was often the image she saw before she fell asleep, and the very same when she woke up. But now that he was standing right in front of her – all she could do was stare like an idiot.

And he stared back.

And then somebody coughed, obviously prompting her to speak up. "Hey," she waved weakly with a small smile. Light, like her, was bewildered. He didn't even seem angry – just confused. And then it hit her how _un_Light like he was acting. So…normal, and young. Where was that intelligent, detached boy with that certain cold assurance to him? Where was that frighteningly sharp genius?

"You were on the task force the entire time, weren't you." He didn't say it like a question, simply a fact and for a moment she didn't answer. She was still too busy taking in this new Light. Seeing him through a computer screen was different, and she couldn't believe that the Light of her investigation was the very same here.

"What? Who are you?" Misa pouted, grabbing her boyfriend's arm possessively. Elaine didn't spare her a glance, she was lost in thought. L shifted his head at her but before he could comment, Elaine was back. "You can still call me Emiko, I'm one of the detectives here," she said, "I was told to stay close to you." Her voice dropped several volumes. "I'm sorry."

Light fingered his brown hair and closed his eyes for a moment. "Well I shouldn't be surprised."

She looked up at him when she heard his breezy tone. No, that was not something Light could easily get over. If she had guessed, the old Light would have slit his eyes at her and observe her like a dangerous species and _then _act casual. "I'm sorry." She said again, and her face creased with genuine guilt. She glanced at L and then pulled out handcuffs. She took a deep breath and a hopeful anxious smile before clicking them into a restraint around L and Light's wrist. "Well, here we go."

"You – you weren't kidding, were you?" Matsuda stammered. He turned to Aizawa, whispering about L's dedication but it wasn't quite praise as it was wary.

"Are you sure this is necessary?" Light asked exasperatedly, raising his arm.

"This is as difficult for me as it is for you." He muttered. Elaine caught his gaze and hid a slight laughter as she sat down on the seat. For a second, her vision blacked out – and she had to clutch on the arm of the couch. _Just hungry, need sugar_.

"So is _this _what you meant by being together 24 hours a day with him? Looking at you I would never guess. Are you on _that _side of the fence, Ryuzaki?" Misa asked. Her voice seemed high pitch and the now tired-out Elaine rubbed her temples.

"I told you, I'm not doing this because I want to, okay?"

"But Light belongs to me! I don't _want _to share him with you. If you're with him 24/7, then how are we supposed to go on dates together?" Misa exclaimed and Elaine only became more irritated. She once pitied the model for being all tied up…but maybe it was better that way. Less talking. Less squealing. She looked at Aizawa who seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Oh you can still go on dates but it will have to be the three of us." L stated and Light looked away uncomfortably.

"No way! Are you telling me we have to kiss in front of you and stuff?"

"I'm not telling you anything…but yes, I suppose I would be watching." How L was even amusing Misa with answering her question was beyond Elaine. "That's so gross. You really are a pervert, aren't you?" Misa made a face. Given any other situation, Elaine may have laughed but not when she was losing her patience with the blonde girl.

"Light," L's patience was weaning as well, "_please_ make Misa stop talking now."

Elaine decided to completely block them out. She curled over, squeezing her eyes shut and her fingers rubbing circles to both sides of her forehead rigorously. With all the events of the past two months, she thought that maybe at last this would finally be the changing point. Instead, she was now listening to an overly attached girlfriend argued out a stupid topic when the fact she was still a suspect of the second Kira was still on the table.

"Huh? How would I feel if Light was Kira?" Misa repeated. Elaine look up curiously. "That'd be wonderful. I mean, I've always been grateful to Kira for punishing the men who killed my parents – so if I actually find out –"

Elaine drained out at the usual school girl love behaviour and caught L making a face. Their eyes met and for a second, the corners of her mouth pulled at a smile from the agitated look in his face. For the sake of the investigation, L covered the basics of the next several days but as Matsuda responded in that usual innocently clueless way of his, Aizawa snapped.

"Stop!" He shouted, standing up and slamming his hands down on the table angrily. "Would you cut it out with all this dating, kissing, and Misa-Misa talk already? This is the Kira investigation. Stop messing around!".

"I just figured out what the problem is. Misa Amane, it's time for you to go to your room." Aizawa pointed out the door, slamming and throwing her back out. Elaine hid a laugh, her softly curled fist by her mouth as she glanced up at L and Light. Elaine would have kissed the usually temperamental man when he drove the girl out of the room. She exhaled in obvious relief and stood up next to L

"So Light, are you serious about her?" L asked, his eyes still on the door.

"No way." Light glanced at the dark-haired girl beside the man he was chained too. "Like I told you earlier, it's completely one sided." His brown eyes don't leave her gray ones and she didn't know what to do but smile weakly.

Although the past months were confusing to him – he remembered working on the task force, carrying out the plans, going to university and was sure he wasn't the one that was behind all the murderers. But one thing remained clear: he _was _interested in Emiko, more so than Kiyomi or Misa. She was intelligent on a different level, someone he could simply talk to. Her false friendship with him should've stung more than it had, but he…well, he understood _why _she had to do it. And to Light, sometimes reason was more important than emotions.

L noticed the silent encounter between the two. "Then could you at least pretend to be serious for the sake of the investigation? There are two things that I know about Amane for sure: one, that she's involved with this…and two –"

"- that she's in love with you." Elaine finished.

"You want me to become intimate with her to gather information about the second Kira?" Light asked, putting aside the fact the two detectives had been able to finish each other's sentence. He distractedly wondered how close they were, and seeing that Emiko was pretty much leaning on Ryuzaki, he drew that they were…quite.

"Yes, I think you can do it without arousing her suspicious and Amane would definitely be a valuable source of information for us. Not to mention, this is the main reason why I agreed to release the two of you." He stated and there was an edge in his tone.

"Ryuzaki," he said slowly with a certain look in his eyes, "as much as I want to help you and as important as the Kira case is to me, I can't manipulate a woman's feelings like that." The moment the words left his mouth, Elaine looked down ashamed but L couldn't take his eyes off him.

"Mm," Ryuzaki murmured, not completely convinced.

"Please try to understand: to me, exploiting another's feelings for personal gain is unforgiveable. And I _won't _allow myself to stoop that low." Light said and there was a genuine, stubbornness in his tone that caught Elaine off guard. She looked back up at him, admiring this different Light. _Maybe he's better this way. _L simply stared.

There's something wrong with this picture…as if he was a different person now. Is it possible that this was an act? If this was genuine, it not only implied that Amane was controlled by Kira, but Light Yagami too.

"What's wrong, Ryuzaki?"

"Nothing." He snapped out of it. "I suppose you're right after all."

Elaine still couldn't help but feel guilty. She _had _manipulated someone for personal gain…but it wasn't completely like that. She liked his company; it wasn't entirely for the case. But even as she told herself this, she didn't believe it. She couldn't meet Light's intense gaze. She crossed her arms and turned away, staring out the window. It was a beautiful cool night and she wanted to go out and run barefooted – not investigate. She wanted to be free of the burden of the Kira case, but she knew that there was no way it was going to be over until Kira was caught or they were dead.

"I want to solve this no matter what it takes." Light was saying. She looked up, her attention back to the others.

L glanced at Light at the opportunity. "If you're serious about that, you should try to get close to Misa and find out about the second –"

"I can't, that goes against my principals."

"Right, you said that." He muttered and his eyes flickered up to Elaine who was only inches away from him. She gave him a look and he sighed, looking away. "What a shame," he pouted making Elaine smile slightly.

Aizwara made a sound, trying to conceal it with his hand. "Hm?" Soichiro turned around.

"Uh, n-nothing, I'm just feeling really motivated right now, chief. Ryuzaki, Emiko, Chief Yagami, Light – let's get out of here and bring Kira to justice!"

…Matsuda stared.

"Uh, excuse me? I couldn't help but notice you missed my name!"

* * *

Sorry for the long wait! I just got a new laptop and was a bit lazy by sending ALL the documents over, and I forgot this one and...yah. Anyway, a bit of a longer and necessary chapter to bridge the two events together, but promise it gets more interesting from here!

Hope you all enjoyed! Reviews would be lovely and motivating :)


	12. Chapter 11: Reasoning and Reasonable

CHAPTER ELEVEN – REASONING AND REASONABLE

They weren't quite sure how, but some way – L and Light managed. Put two geniuses together and they were bound to find a solution to living with each other only several feet away. Several days after the launch of the new Task Force Headquarters – that was much larger than it necessarily had to be, but why not? – they skipped the tour and started getting to work. Seated in front of the computers, Light flicked back and forth through documents and occasionally scrolled down the footages on the huge screens.

L, on the other hand, was sprinkling almonds over his ice cream. And by his side was Elaine, her head on the counter as she yawned. L's black eyes flickered towards her. "Perhaps you should call it a night," he suggested in a mutual tone as he stuck the spoon in his mouth. Light stopped and leaned over to look at her.

She looked tired, as always. He remembered the first time he had met Emiko and the way she seemed to glow. Nowadays, she just looked sickly. "Yeah, Emiko, you don't have too –"

"But you guys are still here," she said stubbornly and got up. She cracked her neck and stretched her arms behind her before going back through the newspaper archives again. If she had to be completely honest, she would say she was jealous of Light. As soon as he teamed up with L, they were constantly together and talking. She felt like the weaker link, like she had just lost her partner. She never had to _share _L before and although she knew at first she wanted his contribution, the fact still bothered her. She knew that she was being irrational but she couldn't help but feel the need to prove herself. She wanted Light to know that she wasn't simply like a hired actress and she didn't want L thinking that she had no purpose in the investigation.

She had finished going through the last several months of news of the murders – both during and before Light's imprisonment. But nothing stood out at her like they usually did and with each hour invested, she only grew more frustrated. Her fingers dug into her hair and she groaned before grabbing L's dish and reaching over him to get a spoon before digging in.

She already had enough of Misa bugging her about getting fat for eating cake. For God's sake it wasn't as if she was ignorant to calories, carbs and fats – but like L, she found out that you can burn calories as long as your brain is working. Differentiating from days of starvation over stress and compulsive work and days of eating purely sweets – getting fat wasn't a concern. Still, she was far from healthy and now exhaustion was being added to that already long list.

L watched her warily and then sighed. "That's it," he said and placed one foot on the ground and then the other. He nodded towards the elevator. "Go to bed, Emiko."

"No!"

He stared at her so intently that even Light turned around. He blinked, glancing in between the two dark haired people and got up and stretched restlessly. "I think it's time to get some sleep too." He checked his watch – an expensive one – before smiling at Elaine. "We'll go up with you."

This caught her attention. She had to admit, she was terribly curious to see how their sleeping condition would be. But her eyes were tired and her eyelids didn't want to open despite the amount of times she would rub them. She yawned and gave in, having the comfort of knowing at least that Light was giving up for the day too. "Alright."

0-0

Unsurprisingly, as soon as her head landed on the blanket – she couldn't sleep. Her body was restless and ached for a relief. With a deep inhale, she pulled herself up and simply stared into the blackness that filled her unnecessarily large room. For several minutes, she simply sat and tried to enjoy the warmth and softness but her anxiety grew. Her lips twitched as she imagined what was going on in the room next to her – where Lawliet and Light slept. Was it on the same bed? Or were there arms awkwardly dangling over an empty space?

But L didn't even sleep on a bed, that was a fact. His back wouldn't be able to withstand being…not curled up, not after years of that awful habit. When L slept, he simply leaned back against a wall or a chair. But where would Light be?

Deciding to act on her curiosity, she moved out of her bed and didn't bother changing. She was, after all, in her natural outfit of boxer shorts and a white shirt. Her legs felt too bare but she only planned to sneak a glance. Once she crossed the cold, sparsely lit hallways, she stood on the tip of her toes to look through the rectangular section of glass. She could only make up a hazy orange emitting from a lamp.

Figuring that they were awake, she turned the door knob quietly and slipped in the room. "Ryuzaki?" She whispered, turning a corner. Their room was split in three parts and the beds were farthest from the door. The middle section held a balcony with a ceiling-to-wall glass door covered by a thick curtain. Next to it on a chair was L squatting over with his arms crossed and chin dipped towards his knee. His eyes were lazily examining the contents displayed on his laptop screen before they moved towards her.

"Hey," she whispered, waving. He put a finger to his lips and lifted his other arm with the chain attached. Her heart quickened when she saw Light sleep on his side facing towards them, his hair falling over his forehead in a way that made him seem very, very young. A part of his arm hung over the bed despite the extended length of the chain.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" L asked her quietly, speaking in English. She heard the faintest familiar accent in his low voice and suddenly she was homesick. She had missed the environment very much and being surrounded in Japanese culture wasn't bad…but wasn't ideal either. Cases didn't usually take this long and they had never stayed anywhere for this duration.

"I couldn't," she simply said and the native language felt oddly foreign to her. She winced.

"What's wrong?"

"I miss home."

"Home?" He repeated, lightly confused. They didn't exactly have a home in the past several years, more like extremely familiar home _bases_. He caught on. "I know this case is taking a long time, but this Kira is proving to be more challenging than we thought."

"That's what you get for assuming it would be easy to track down someone who only needs a name and face to kill." She pouted, hugging herself. She awkwardly sat squished up next to him but leaned in against him anyway. He felt her loosely waved hair tickle his cheek and he sighed, relaxing back into the tall chair. For a moment they simply sit next to each other, lost in thought.

She realized that there, next to L, it felt a bit more like home.

"You should sleep, Emi," he said quietly and she despised that he couldn't call her Ellie like he so often did. She _liked _it when he called her Ellie. It was like an adjective of _L _– of his own identity. She closed her eyes but shook her head. "I can't," she murmured softly yet she felt sleep creep on the fringes of her mind now that she was comfortable.

"I'll get you some warm milk."

And then he got up and ruined the moment. The warmth left her all at once and cold air rushed in as she sat alone. He took a key and quickly unlocked it to her surprise. "What happened to 24/7?" She whispered urgently. He gave her a look.

"I would go crazy if I was attached to Light Yagami for that long." He simply said before he walked off, curled over like a mantis and she felt an uncontrollable smile pull at her lips. She hugged herself once more and her eyes wandered to the blindingly bright screen with a flinch.

Light stirred.

"Emiko?"

She blinked, but there was a resistance as she had to fight off her fatigue at last. "Sorry," she whispered. He looked down at his wrist and his eyes followed the trail that led to the ground. "Where's L?" He asked with a yawn. She didn't answer, and simply put a finger to her lip as if asking him to keep it a secret. He smiled before rubbing his wrist underneath the cuff. He still looked so…young. Maybe sleep did that to people, it stopped time and the world for those several hours and the lingering affect was still present.

Or maybe because now, Kira's..._power_...wasn't tainting him anymore.

She felt her chest tighten. "Light," she began and untangled her legs clumsily as she crawled on the bed, crossing her leg. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" He asked and rubbed his eyes. God, he looked so _normal _that her guilt only grew. For the past several days, they never had a chance to talk and explain the past. They had already moved forward to the present. But that was what adults did, right? So why did she feel like it was too easy for him to get over the fact that she had been around him to gather information? Her eyes softened.

"I didn't use you," she said in a low voice and looked worriedly back out around the corner. "Well…I did at first – but that was before I met you. You have every right to think bad of me but –"

"But I don't." He said and he sounded awake. They were sitting next to each other, with Light half under a blanket and leaning against an arm as his palms pressed down on the mattress next to her. They weren't touching but they were close – close enough that she could feel the heat coming off from him. She was glad the room was dark because she was _fairly _sure that she was beet red at the proximity.

Light wasn't Lawliet. She didn't know Light like that – and that kiss felt too long ago for it to be relevant now but she just wasn't...used to being so close. "I understood why you had to do what you did, and I don't blame you. In case you haven't noticed, I am well aware of the extent Ryuzaki would go through to solve the case and I don't put it past him to ask a girl to do what you did."

She laughed at that but then stopped and leaned back. His eyes widen just slightly as he became more awake. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Misa," she said instantly and then laughed nervously. "I'm sorry, this must be inappropriate…what with you –"

He tilted his head. "Emiko," he said slowly, his golden brown eyes boring into hers, "I think you know my relationship with her." Or lack of. His words weren't a comfort to her. Still, she smiled at him.

"I really am sorry," she said. Although admittedly she felt like she had to compete with him, it was probably her tiredness that made her grouchy. Right now she wanted nothing more than to slip under warm covers and fall asleep. Before she could continue, her mouth opened involuntarily and she let out a yawn. His mouth tugged at a little smile.

"Good night, Emiko."

"Good night." She left the sleeping quarters and blinked when she saw a dark haired man lean lazily against the wall, his shoulders hunched and one hand in his pocket while the other ran over his lower lip. Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth – and then stopped.

She ran. And she didn't stop until she threw herself onto the bed and dove into the cover of the blankets, her heart racing in her chest – yet she felt something dropped. It took an hour of going back and forth in her mind until she finally pinpointed what she had felt when she saw Lawliet watching her.

Guilt.

* * *

So a lovely reader is waiting for more Elaine/L, so...get ready for it :) After re-watching majority of the series, I have finally ended writing this story...so it's going to be quick updates (based on the views cause like...if nobody's reading, I don't want to throw out the chapters. Does that make any sense?) So...

Reviews would be lovely!


	13. Chapter 12: Past and Present

CHAPTER TWELVE – PAST AND PRESENT

_13 years ago…_

Rainy days were the typical weather of England, so it was obvious that the most definable memory of that day was filled with grey skies and snow falling in gentle, huge amounts. But, of course, that wasn't the biggest standout. A five year old girl looked out the window and grinned, feeling the bite of frost on her face and fingertips. She heard the distant sound of children playing inside around the fireplace, all proving their greatness through games and competitions with each other.

But there was still a distinct group of kids all alone in their separate corners, lost in their own complexity that was their minds. Elaine was not one of them. She was simply waiting eagerly for the grandfatherly man to take her out into town. She was too excited to even notice the chill in the air inside the stone rooms, or be annoyed by the sound of the bell being clocked by the wind. There was only one sound she was waiting for, and it was the sound of iron gates creaking as it opened.

And when it came, Elaine shot up and ran out of the room with a squeal. A boy her age, with large green eyes looked at her curiously. "Wait, Lexi!" She stopped, her chubby palms against the door as she tilted her head.

"What's wrong, A?" She said but she was distracted as she looked out the window. The black car was slowly stopping in front of the entrance and she wanted to meet Watari right at the door so they could make it to London without any haste. The boy grabbed her hand. "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" She frowned, pouting. Her light gray eyes held the look of a child who demanded to understand the world. She didn't like feeling left out of any information. Being in the orphanage all her life, she knew most of the other children in the building and it gave her some credibility and knowledge of what went on.

"Haven't you heard?" He raised his eyebrow and let go of her wrist, but his eyes still retained a slightly overwhelmed look. She exhaled over dramatically and shook her head. "Sir is coming back with a new orphan."

"So?"

He stared at her but Elaine's– or rather Lexi's face was clueless. They all had their aliases established as soon as Watari picked them up and introduced them into the Wammy's House. "He'll be busy, that's all."

Her irritation softened and she sighed. She took the nervous boy's hands. "Well we'll see about that!" A smile brightened up her face as she let go of him and ran off again to the entrance of the gothic style building. She didn't bother putting on a jacket or scarf, too excited to finally get out. When she got to the entrance, the familiar old man's back was facing her as he helped someone out of the car. She restrained herself, entwining her fingers together behind her back. She felt her hair brush against her bare arm as she leaned over and tippy-toed to see the person behind Quilish Wammy – a boy. A boy with messy dark hair and black, wide eyes.

0-0

"Mm," the young lady groaned as she wrestled the blanket and threw her leg over it. She arched her back and yawned, rubbing her eyes and trying to ignore the two voices.

"Just wake her up."

"She hasn't slept for awhile; maybe we should just let her rest for a bit."

A sigh. "You're just afraid of touching her."

Splutter. "Ry-Ryuzaki, that's not it. Come on." A chain dangled and Elaine squeezed her eyes shut, rolling over to press her face against the warmth of the pillow. Half awake, she listened to the sound of people walking become more and more distant.

0-0

_12 years ago…_

"Come on, L! You need to get out of that place anyway!" Elaine giggled as she tugged the boy's arm. He groaned, rolling his eyes and resisted her. She was 6 years old, her long, dark hair tied up hastily in a pony tail and she wore the typical sport ensemble. Behind her was an 9 year old boy wearing a long sleeve shirt and jeans. His eyes looked incredibly wide with no shadows beneath them but a hint of worn out lines hinted at his growing unhealthy habits. "You need exercise."

"You need to stop that." He muttered disinterestedly but allowed her to pull him towards the tennis court anyway. She grinned and ran to retrieve the tennis rackets. She handed one to him and he took it curiously before looking back at her. This was the girl who immediately tried to get him to interact with the entire population at the Wammy's House. She was the girl who non-stopped tried to befriend him, the only person who didn't filter their honest thoughts on this strange child. "So what you do is –"

"I'm well aware of how to hit a ball with a racket, Lexi."

Her face dropped a bit, eyes wide."Okay."

When he looked back at the girl in front of him, who looked like she forgot how to breathe_,_ he sighed with defeat. "So, how do you play?"

And exactly as he predicted, her face lit up with excitement once again.

0-0

"Emiko."

Nudge.

"Emi, wake up."

"Mmmm."

A sigh. "It's been fifteen hours. Wake up and eat breakfast."

"Let it go, Ryuzaki. Emiko needs –"

"Shouldn't you be somewhere, Light? Perhaps with Misa –" He stopped and the chain rattled once again. "Ah, right, slipped my mind." She felt a cool hand brush over her forehead and flick away her hair from her face. And then the sounds of steps, steps away.

0-0

_12 years ago…_

In the room highest in the Orphanage, the sky was pitch black and a cool air wafted from the window. The two children heard the comforting sounds of crickets and wildlife as they lit up a candle. Immediately the dark room lit up with a constant quiver of a hazy flame. Elaine pulled a blanket over her shoulders and threw the other end towards L. A smile played on her mouth. "Are you ready?"

He stared. This was strange. He was in a room. Alone. With a girl. Even at his young age, he knew that this was inappropriate but a year with her got him to agree to their little meeting. "For what…" he let his question drift in the silence between them. She looked nervous and fidgety and excitedly all at once.

"For the secret!"

"Secret?" He repeated. What secret could she have that would be worth all this work?

"Mhm!" She nodded and inched closer towards him. He leaned back not so subtly but she ignored this. "I can trust you, right?"

"I don't see why not, Lexi." He said slowly and she winced. Her mouth twitched and her facial expression darkened. She squirmed around in her seat and readjusted the blanket around them.

"That's sort of it," she said softly, "Lexi."

"That's not my name." He simply stated. She gave him an exasperated look.

"Well, _obviously _not. And…it's not mine either." She admitted, looking scorned. Her eyebrows knit together and he simply watched her, waiting. She breathed in deeply. They all knew that each child here had aliases and it was an accepted fact. Still, she thought that their friendship extended further than identity. After all, it wasn't like he was going to scream to the world her real name, right? How could that affect her future anyway? "My name is Elaine." She whispered, her eyes wide and hesitant. She watched him carefully for his reaction but his face didn't change.

He simply looked curious. "Elaine," he said, testing out her name. He liked it. "Ellie."

She beamed.

"Hi." She giggled.

"Ellie," he said again and leaned back against the wall. He looked up at the high ceiling and then out the window where a white moon was well above them. They didn't talk. They just sat with their backs against the wall and the quilt around them, shoulder to shoulder. And just when Elaine thought that would be that, she felt her eyelids become heavy and she welcomed sleep with a smile.

And then his soft voice filled the silence.

"You can call me Lawliet."

0-0

"Oh for God's sake she's been asleep for seventeen hours." Someone groaned and she squeezed her eyes shut, hugging the pillow closer to her. Suddenly, coldness flashed over her body as someone pulled out the blanket from her. She shouted, convulsing ragingly. "No, stop!" She pleaded in a desperate attempt to retreat back into the warmth. She pulled her eyelids apart and ended up staring at a familiar, sleep deprived man. "Do you wish for death, Ryuzaki? Do you wish for me to end you?"

He rolled his eyes. "Come on, up you go." He held out a hand and dragged her up.

Since threats didn't work, she resorted into guilt. "Why would you do this to me, Ryuzaki, why would you bring me this pain?" She moaned as she rubbed her eyes. He acknowledged her complaining with a flick of his wrist, but didn't give in. Thankfully it was dark enough outside that it didn't burn her eyes and her room was nice and quiet with the exception of the deep voices of L and Light.

"We're glad that you've rested though," Light added. L rolled his eyes again.

"Yes, _we _are ecstatic. It was starting to look like you were in a coma."

"Shut up." She mumbled. She felt hot now, unbelievably hot and for the first time, L glanced back at her with something more than a casual look. Light frowned as well, his eyebrows knitting together and faster than L could, he leaned in towards the dark haired girl to place a cool hand on her forehead.

"You seemed flush," he said, "maybe we should call a doctor."

Flushed? For whatever reason, they both looked at a L for confirmation – or perhaps even permission – but he simply shook his head before not so subtly brushing Light aside so that he was crouched up on Elaine's bed. He leaned in close to her – too close, their faces a breath apart – and his eyes scanned down her face. She saw him, and only him. A clear, pale face stained by dark shadows beneath moving black eyes. His colouring all hinted at his partial Japanese heritage, but that defined jawline and angle of his nose was evident of his English, maybe Russian and French background - and she was so close to him if she just leaned in -

"Ryuzaki," Light said slowly, "what are you doing?"

Elaine didn't react, and neither does her childhood friend. But knowing that Light would perhaps nag at him later, he muttered, "Well considering the fact that I hold Doctorate in Sciences and several other fields, a physician isn't really necessary."

"How am I, Doc?" She asked then, a smile on her too-red face. His mouth twitched at a frown.

"You're stressed." He declared. "Go eat fruits, no cake."

The way her face dropped was on the borderline of comedic. "What?" She whispered. "But it's almost breakfast!" Breakfast was essentially the meal with the most sugar: what with pancakes, syrups and toppings. L knew this well too. At the Wammy's House a little over a decade ago, nutrition wasn't very important. She, among many others, ate whatever she desired so as long as she proved her genius capabilities and her potential to help the world. And she, again like others, took advantage of that.

Light, clearly, did not.

"Really, Emiko, maybe you should just drink water and see how you –"

"I'm hungry." She cut him off and got out of the bed, although she _did _felt the heat in her face and momentarily stopped, clutching at L as her vision blurred and blacked out from her light headedness. Seeing Light's alarm, she quickly said, "I'm okay, I'm okay," before crawling slowly out of bed.

"You sure?" He asked, his voice clearly showing his reluctance.

"Yeah." And it wasn't how weak or soft she sounded when she said this that made him think otherwise, it was the way her fingers were pulling at the sleeve of his shirt...and the way they made their way to his hand, holding on tight.

* * *

I think the last chapter had the quickest feedback...ever. I was really excited to write a _in the past _bit to give a glimpse into their history! If you like, I would totally write up a whole chapter dedicated to that...if you want...(even though I finished writing everything already but I'll just slip that bit in there).

But yes, reviews would be lovely! And thank you to all the wonderful people who read and reviewed the last time. I think I said this about a thousand time, but I was smiling like an idiot when I saw all the feedback after hours of typing non-stop!

And to answer **jssjessica, no this story isn't ending soon - still got plenty more to go! :)**

**P.S. **If you have time, I did scribble up some pictures on L/Elaine. Link is on my profile!


	14. Chapter 13: Behind the Norm

CHAPTER THIRTEEN – BEHIND THE NORM

When Matsuda walked into the main foyer, he saw several things at once:

Light, looking somehow tidy, professional and comfortable all at once as he laboured over several sheets of paper.

Ryuzaki, who was staring up at the ceiling and dropping cherries into his mouth, chewing them thoughtfully.

And Emiko, in a cocoon of blankets, doing nothing.

And these were the so called geniuses of the case – all years younger than him. Ryuzaki noticed him first, his black eyes sliding towards the Task Force Member. "Well good morning, Matsuda." He said pleasantly yet somehow there was a tone of insincerity beneath it. The strange thing about Ryuzaki, Matsuda realized, is that as condescending as he may be…there will always be that urge to impress him, to be recognized by such a renowned detective – or rather three.

"H-Hey Ryuzaki," he couldn't help but stutter, "any progress?"

Light was too deep into the work to notice that he had spoken but Emiko peaked out from beneath her barricade of blankets. "Nope. I did, however, found out that the currency in Zimbabwe had dropped –"

"Emi," Ryuzaki stopped her, his voice in a warning, "focus."

Instead of looking scolded as Matsuda would have if Ryuzaki were to look at him with his black eyes like that, Emiko snorted. "Right, you're telling _me _to focus when for the past half hour, you've done nothing but work on your twisted stem collection!"

"Better than reading about the Sub-Saharan economic status –"

"Oh, _please_, at least mine has to do with humans! Unlike you, you man-child person doing what are supposedly sexually-teasing activ –"

Ryuzaki. Sexually teasing? What had Matsuda walk _into_?

"Man child? I'm hearing this from a girl who doesn't even know how to _drive _–"

"Because driving is more superior than to piloting a helicopter. Anyway, at least I can do laundry-"

"No, you're a liar. Watari does it for you."

"Liar?! Look who's talking Mister 5%!"

They were arguing. Ryuzaki and Emiko were arguing. Matsuda wondered if this was real, or if he was still asleep. The two dark-haired foreigners were in each others' faces, eyes wide and spitting out things nonstop. How things have escalated to this point, he could not remember.

"…at least I don't have bags worse than the Pope!"

"You're just saying that because he gave me an honorary mention –"

"Shocker! Ryuzaki only has his awards to back him up!"

"As opposed to what, per se?"

"Hm, I don't know, maybe _human gratitude _–"

"You got _one _hug and that was three years ago –"

"Don't bother hiding your envy, Ryuzaki, I saw your face –"

" – well then please explain further _since I was in Russia _–"

"Oh right! That's when that hitman guy almost got to you! Look at that. Emiko gets a hug and Ryuzaki gets almost _murdered. _I wonder what that –"

And then suddenly they were shouting in English and the Matsuda just gave up on understanding the two. Light's fist tightened around his paper and his eyes were shut, a vein pulsing at his forehead until finally he had enough. "Stop it!" He shoved the two apart, "both of you! You're acting like children!" They had been close enough to kiss with all the shouting and he had to kick Emiko's wheeled chair since it didn't look like she would let go of Ryuzaki's shirt but the dark haired man who looked not at all disturbed. It was as if nothing had happened.

"Why'd you that, Light?" He asked curiously, his face betraying no hint of anger or even annoyance. Strangely enough, Emiko reflected the exact same confusion. Matsuda blinked. What the hell had just happened in front of him?

"I don't want you two ripping out each other's throat." Light continued, glowering, his amber eyes intense. "I know that we're all stressed here but that _doesn't_ give the excuse for you two argue like that."

"Argue?" He repeated as if he wasn't aware that he was shouting only moments ago. He leaned over Light to look at Elaine, who looked just as bewildered by the assumption. They shared a glance and shrugged before looking back at Light. "Why would we do that?" She asked. Light stopped, dumbfounded.

"Maybe you're the one stressed out, Light," Ryuzaki shrugged as he spun around and threw a cherry into his mouth. Elaine spun in her chair before pushing against it with her weight to slide back to the computers. "Maybe you should take a break." She added hesitantly, looking genuinely concerned.

Light looked between the two at them, and then at Matsuda and then his father wondering if he really _was _going crazy. But Matsuda was still staring, and that single phrase repeated in his mind for the fourth time since he walked in less than three minutes ago.

_What the hell?_

0-0

"Hey - guys!" Elaine ran into Misa's room, grinning and then -

She was on the floor.

"Emiko!"

She struggled to breathe for a moment as she felt someone _else _smash into her. Again. And then she couldn't breathe for several moments, groaning as she forced herself to look and all she saw was two men hovered over her, shouting out her name but for heaven's sake she wished they would just _be quiet_. As if it wasn't enough for her to get knocked out. Everything happened too fast but she vaguely remembered Light slamming into her first, the chain around his wrist whipping around and there came L and then they were _both _smashing into her.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" She exclaimed, hand on her chest. She was winded, but fine as she tried to back off from the two wide eyed men. Their individual weights alone would have been tolerable but with the force included, she was...hurt. The pain was pounding but tolerable. She found Light's hand first, not looking as he pulled her up.

"Why didn't you look at where you were going?!" L said, annoyed, at Light, grabbing him by his collar. "You could have killed her -"

"_Me_? You were the one that kicked me all the way across the room!"

"Shut up, both of you!" She sighed. "I just..." Instinctively, she let go of Light's hand and looked at L instead, and something about that movement was very clear to Light. Her pale eyes peered into L's dark ones with a pleaded look. "I remember something and I have to talk to you – the both of you soon, okay?"

"Do you need medical attention first?" Light asked, stepping in and Misa couldn't help but pout at the attention on this girl, despite the fact that she, only seconds ago, had been tackled down. She glanced back at him and shook her head, hoping that the minor injury won't stop her flow of thought. At last, she remembered what was so important: she found something.

"No, no I'm fine really. It's just," she shook her head, "Please? Just come soon – before I forget."

"Hey, what about the date!" Misa was complaining, but the three of them were already leaving, slamming the door behind them.

0-0

"And then I recognized some of these names as CEO and compiled a list of all the recent deaths. Making a graph of their company's grossing, they all noticeably drop with one exception – the Yotsuba group so -"

"- so you're a genius," L sighed.

"This is amazing," Light said, barely containing his laughter of disbelief. "How did you even see this?"

She looked at L triumphly. "Well, I _was _looking at the Sub-Saharan market and then switched over to Japan." She grinned and he rolled her eyes but there was without a doubt, a proud look on his face. "And then I just...saw it." She shrugged, genuinely modest. She still didn't quite know how her mind worked yet – her eyes just saw relationships and every time she had a nagging feeling that maybe _this _person did _this _because it was _this _date, it usually turned out to be true. That knack was what made her a good detective, but it was nothing reliable such as L's intelligence. She had to wait for it to appear, and now that it did – she felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders.

"So now," L said, "we plan our next move."

* * *

Didn't plan on such quick updates, but I reached 50 alerts/40 fav and since I have mini-goals like that...here it is! A bit shorter than usual, but we're getting closer to the dreaded moment!

:(

Anyways, reviews would be lovely and motivating :) Whether it's a "yes" "no" or "5/10" honestly...your thoughts mean a lot! Thanks for reading!


	15. Chapter 14: Relationships

CHAPTER FOURTEEN – RELATIONSHIPS

A knock on the the door made Misa squeal, running too it excitedly, her blonde hair flying. "Light -" She stopped, her face dropped as she realized who it was. "Oh, it's just you."

Elaine smiled. Sort of. "Can I come in?"

Misa sighed. It wasn't like she disliked Emiko or anything, it was just that she was hoping she would get more time with Light since their date had been cut short by a certain girl who had gotten hurt. "Sure, I guess." She opened the door wider and Elaine slipped inside, but still hung around the entrance.

"So," she began, "I want to apologize."

"Apologize?" Misa repeated, her blue eyes narrowed suspiciously. "For what?"

"Well," Elaine said slowly, "I was assuming that you were on a date with Light when..."

"Oh!" She stopped. She had never thought that Emiko would apologize for that. In fact, an apology didn't even cross her mind. She was upset, sure, but she didn't _expect _an apology. In fact, knowing L, she didn't expect anything but it helped to complain anyway. "You don't have too!"

"But I should." Elaine sighed. She never had to apologize to suspects before but with all this guilt and how down she had been feeling these past couple weeks, she figured this was a good way t to get things off her chest. "I know that things are tough that you are locked here and everything, and I guess we really didn't get to talk too much about it and..."

Misa waited.

"And it must have been hard being locked up like that for all that time, and I _am _sorry even if I didn't say that but...but I guess what I'm trying to say is that even if Ryuzaki doesn't apologize for his actions, I will."

Suddenly, Misa was seeing her in a new light. Elaine had a small smile on her face.

"So -"

"Oh, Emi!" Misa cried out, throwing her arms around the taller girl. "That's so nice of you!" Being the passionate person Misa was, she didn't let go of her even when Elaine laughed and tried to push her off. Misa didn't expect an apology from that dark period – from being tied up and bound. Everyone had yelled at her that she should be grateful that she was even released. "I promise I won't steal your stuff anymore!"

Elaine stood there awkwardly, not used to all the affection from another girl. Her world had been pretty restricted to L and Watari, and everyone else she was forced to work with on a much farther extent. Like L, as much as she may lie about it, she knew that her number of friends was One until she joined the Kira case.

"Sure," she said as she detached the girl from her. "So...truce?"

Misa nodded, beaming as she winked. "Sure."

Elaine seemed like a weight was lifted off her chest and she exhaled loudly. There it was – lightness. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow," then she paused when Misa called out her name. "Hm?"

"I've been curious," she said and there was a playful glint in her eyes, "what exactly is between you and Ryuzaki?"

This caught her attention. "What do you mean?"

"Well are you like...married?"

Elaine stopped.

And then laughed.

Loudly.

"_Married_?" She repeated, unable to really get out – hell, she could barely breathe. "You- you think we're married?"

"Hey! What's wrong with that! I mean, you two _are _together, right?" Misa asked, pouting with her eyebrows pulled together. She didn't like being laughed at, but she it was hard to be angry at Emiko who had been so tired and dull lately. She was nothing like the girl Misa remembered seeing walking home from Light's house all those months ago. But hearing that laugh now, it made her feel like she _wasn't _stuck in a condo under being the second Kira suspicions.

Elaine wiped a tear from her eye. "I really needed that laugh...but no, we're not married."

"Why?"

"Why?" She raised her eyebrow.

"Yeah, I mean – I know he's weird and everything -"

"He's not." Elaine said quickly and any trace of laughter disappeared in that instant so obvious even Misa stopped. Suddenly, all Elaine could think about was being back in the Wammy's house as they pointed at L and whispered about him. She was only six the first time she punched someone in the face clumsily because they called him _buggy_.

L was not weird.

Okay, he was. But more than anything, he was intelligent, he made her laugh – and...and remembering waking up seeing his face so close to hers a couple days ago, he was handsome. But she couldn't say this so instead, she simply added quietly, "he really isn't."

Misa looked at her strangely, wondering how she got so defensive."Well, okay."

Elaine turned away, but she couldn't leave it at like that. She came to apologize to Misa, and couldn't leave after snapping. With her hand on the knob, she said, "I'm sorry. And I'm glad that you can get over everything so well."

"Get over what?"

Elaine stared and very slowly with her light eyes wide, she said, "you know...being treated like a criminal and monitored...strapped down..."

Misa blinked and then laughed. "Oh that? I'm strong, I can handle it."

Elaine winced, her hand still on the knob. She could just say _good for you _and leave things in a better state, but that guilt would just crawl back. She took a deep breath and spun around. "Misa."

"Hm?"

Should she? Elaine opened her mouth and then closed it. Should she speak her mind? They _had _spoke about relationships, after all. So should she give Misa her thoughts on Light – and how deep his feelings went for this blonde girl? He cared for _now _but the Light she knew _before _the imprisonment was sketchy between alternating with Misa and Kiyomi..."You deserve happiness, Misa."

The girl blinked, confused.

"What do you mean?"

Elaine looked like she was about to say something again, but only ended up sighing. She touched her hair habitually, and suddenly Misa saw that same, tired stressed out girl again and she had the urge to make her laugh again. When Elaine did spoke, her voice felt drained. "And I know that Light makes you unbelievably happy but..."

And as Elaine stared at the girl in front of her, she knew that no matter what she could say about Light, it would never change her perception of him. Misa would forever be in love with him, even if he didn't return those feelings _in that way_. "Don't be blinded by it." And before she would say something she regret, she left Misa's room.

0-0

Elaine laid in the centre of her room – room, not bed – and stared up at the ceiling, thinking, wondering. Despite her discovery, she still felt off her game. She didn't feel _normal_. And as selfish as she was being, she still couldn't deny the fact that she missed the times when it was just her and L talking, whispering in the dark about a case with Watari strolling in periodically to check up on them and feed them. Like animals, in a way.

If someone had told her when she was six years old that if she were to befriend this enigma, she would guarantee her life as a partner to the greatest detective in the world, she would have laughed, gave it a moment's thought, and then proceeded to playing whatever it was with him. But it had happened exactly like that, and with each case, she found herself closer and closer to L to the point where she couldn't even remember when or how exactly it had happened.

But this Kira case was different.

All the others were like a puzzle and she was waiting for the right thing to pop up before it was solved and all over. This case felt like an impossibility. Gods and shinigami and death surrounded her in a whole other way and perhaps it was this concept that affected her like this, that trapped and encased her.

God, she missed the simplicity of the other cases. Of simply reading, understanding, setting up plans and then leaving home base to play whatever it took: a mafia doctor, a client, a potential victim, a target. It was easier putting herself to use, to being thrown out but with a goal in mind. This Kira case was different, and even with the realization of the Yotsuba group, she still felt like she was going in circles. And. It. Was. Driving. Her. Crazy.

She groaned.

She didn't want to think anymore. She was letting her thoughts run freely now, so here was the naked truth, concealed by not the tiniest bit of excuse:

Elaine missed the past.

She wanted to be with Lawliet, and just him.

And the only question left was _why_. If it was natural, territorial, fear or maybe...maybe even a romantic intent...she wasn't quite sure.

0-0

"Hey, Ryuzaki?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think we'll actually solve this case? Find out who Kira is?" Light asked distractedly as he leaned back against the chair, staring up up at the silver ceiling as he spun a pen in his hand. Even though the past couple months had been a blur to him, the future was even worse. How did he expect all of this to end? How could he find the solution? Usually, this sort of thing came easy to him but so many important things felt scattered...even if he didn't know _what _it was.

He remembered still being bored in high-school when he first met Emiko. He remembered getting into To-Oh University and meeting Ryuzaki there for the first time. He remembered a tennis match, and he remembered being brought up to a hotel where he had his intelligence questioned. He remembered kissing Emiko – and he remembered her choosing to forget the entire incident.

But he did not, at all, remembered what he was thinking throughout the entire time. It was like watching a movie. And even though he was living it right now – he felt like he was missing a large chunk of something, something important...something that could maybe solve this case.

"Of course," Ryuzaki said reassuringly, "after all, how can we possibly fail?"

Light laughed. Of course he would say something like that. "I guess that isn't an option for you."

"No, it's not."

A new thought suddenly occurred to him. "Have you and Emiko ever...not solve a case?"

"No."

"Been stuck?"

"No," was his immediate, bored response but then Ryuzaki sighed, "not until this one." And Light knew he was testing his patience, but he still continued.

"Say, how long have you two been working together anyway?"

Ryuzaki finally spun around, staring at him with an unamused expression in his black, sleepless eyes. "Just where are you going with this, Light?"

"Just curious." He sat up straighter in his chair, making sounds as he stretched. Ryuzaki seemed to relaxed slightly and returned to staring at his food. The silence was long enough for Light to drop the topic altogether, but surprisingly, he responded.

"Long enough. We are quite close." He said but there was no intimacy in his statement. It was as if someone was asking about how long one knew a teacher – clipped and professional. But Light _knew – _in fact, anyone with eyes could see the relationship between the two – that things went deeper than that.

"Childhood friends?"

Pause.

"Something like that."

Because despite the seven language he knew fluently on a University level, he could not find a word right enough to describe the relationship that he had always had with Elaine.

Except maybe one word in Chinese.

_Yuanfen._

* * *

Sorry for all the filler-like chapter! It's just...well, the gap between the Yotsuba group and L's death is really short and I don't want this story ending on the fourteenth chapter or whatever.

But yes, thank you for reading! Reviews would be lovely :)


	16. Chapter 15: The Next L

CHAPTER FIFTEEN – THE NEXT L

Light was standing out the door, his arms crossed and eyes closed. The chain around his wrist was running through the other side where L and Emiko were talking privately. Although he found it slightly suspicious that they were keeping secrets, he understood the past they shared and the privacy they were used to when talking to each other.

But Elaine's face was twisted up and she couldn't breathe right. "But Ryuzaki -"

"It's just a caution, Emiko. Besides, Watari can't leave and you're the only one I trust well enough to carry this out."

She bit on her lip, watching him with wide, ash coloured eyes. Something about her expression made him sigh and he leaned back against the door, his hands in his pocket. "I need you to do this."

Her eyes flickered across his face, observing him closely. "Okay," she said softly, "I'll go. But be careful with the Yatsuba group, okay? Don't do anything crazy until I get back."

"You have a week." He said breezily, standing up straighter now that she agreed. "I trust you know who the top candidates are?" She nodded reluctantly.

"I do."

A year ago, it was decided amongst them who the successor to the great detective known as L would be. With the Wammy's House practically raising children to one day play this role, it was between the three of them – L, Elaine and Watari – who would choose the next L if anything were to happen, with L holding the most sway. It was an avoided topic, of course, since Elaine would rather _not _think of her only and best friend dying but...but if he felt like it was necessary for her to go confirm the two candidates, then she would do it – for him.

When she had first met the tiny, silver-haired boy for the first time, Elaine had always thought that Near would be a perfect successor. But meeting his competitor, a blonde haired boy named Mello, something was appealing to that idea too. Whereas Near had the quirks to fill the role, Mello had that crazy ambition and recklessness to solve a case that made L such a successful detective.

But if she had to be honest, the moment she met Light Yagami – the new one, the one working with her right now – he seemed just as intelligent and just as capable to replace L.

She shivered at the idea of that. Of not having him around.

"Something wrong?"

"No, nothing. Just thinking." She said quickly but the haunted expression did not leave her face. L had always been threatened and people had always tried to find him and kill him. Watari was great at keeping security and it wasn't as if L was parading around like a target, but the chances of him living a long life was a slim one. Maybe forty, forty five years old. She wasn't even sure what that would mean to her, but Elaine as well could not see a far future in front of her.

"Watari already has set you up first-class ticket ready to go in several hours."

Her stomach dropped. "So soon?"

He couldn't meet her eyes, looking around instead. "The sooner, the better." He turned back to the door, his hand on his knob hesitantly. "Emiko?"

Her head snapped up. "Hm?"

He stared at her for awhile, at the girl who had always been his constant, the one person he always thought was smarter than him in a different way. But he would never place the role of L on her, ever. "Nothing."

"Okay." She said softly, and watched as he opened the door. He looked up to Light and they nodded before walking away, but she couldn't move. She had thought he would say something...a _be safe _or _good-bye. _Or maybe a hug. He didn't, and that wasn't even what bothered her the most. It was knowing that she was sent off on a side mission to set up plans in case of his death...

She wasn't okay with that. Not one bit.

0-0

A week had passed since Emiko departed, explaining nothing except she was home-sick before leaving abruptly. It felt weird for him to be alone, but Light provided some sort of companionship. But looking at the brown haired man now who had just made Reiji Namikawa a potential mole and delayed the deaths of several important man, L began thinking of Light as...a successor. That is, if he wasn't Kira. But...

"At this rate, if I end up dying somehow...it's quite possible that you would be capable of succeeding me."

"_What_? Why are you being so morbid?" Light questioned, convincingly appalled. "There isn't time for that - we only have a month to find Kira's identity and to gather up enough evidence against him to prove it. This is only the beginning."

"Yes but...you actually might be more capable than I am." His tone was slow, measured. "I honestly believe that you could take this on. Tell me, if I should die, would you take over for me as L?" If he was Kira and was only playing innocent, he should say yes.

"What are you talking about?" Light stopped, and he heard the clinking of the chains. "As long as we are joined by these, we would die together anyway." He paused and a flicker of understanding flashed through his eyes. Light, having figured out what he was thinking, explained everything exactly to the Task Force. L simply stared in front of him, casual about it, wishing that Elaine would be there to -

"Ryuzaki," he felt a hand on his shoulder spinning the chair around. Lowered to L's level, he was forced to stare right into Light's determined eyes. "Do you think that I'm actually capable of becoming a murderer – Kira? Even after I help you catch him? Do I seem like that sort of person to you?"

He looked into the brown eyes of Light Yagami. Even after all this time, this man was simply too smart...and although L and Elaine both acknowledged a change in him, L would not put it past Light – the one before the imprisonment – to have this all planned out. To wipe his memory of being Kira, to take up L's name, and return to killing the criminals. _That _Light would forever stay on his mind, and he was sure that he would always have a lingering suspicion that Light was in fact Kira. "Yes, you do." He spoke at last knowing the consequence of his blatant truth. "I've always thought so."

And then Light's fist was in his face, and he only had _just _enough time to kick him as well.

"Gah! Not again!"

As soon as Matsuda pulled them a part, he felt a buzzing in his pocket. Quickly taking out his phone, he saw the only text from the only person he ever really cared to check from. _I'm coming in the building, checked out both of them. _With Elaine's confirmation, he was ready to separate the task force. They were becoming to swayed by the sacrifices and he was intent on the objective: to stop Kira once and for all. The more the Task Force stayed together, evident from the situation with Aizawa, the more they were bound to fight over trivial things.

He was used to working solely with Elaine who understood his actions, and he had thought he could work with them as well – but they _weren't _Elaine and they were...getting in the way. Even as he thought about all this, he spoke and ignored their reactions. "I will pursue Kira on my own. We only have one month...I wonder who will succeed." He got up, not stopping to speak as he walked up the stairs, dragging Light with him.

"R-Ryuzaki, where are you going?"

"To Amane's room. Sorry, I know you're on your father's side and all but I can't remove these handcuffs." His tone was flat, unwavering despite Light's obvious protest. "I'm afraid you're going to have to come along with me." It wasn't an ideal partner, but without Elaine, he would have to do.

0-0

That one week away from Japan had refreshed Elaine completely. By the time her taxi pulled up on the towering glass buildings, she actually even looked _forward _to working back on the Kira case.

At the Wammy's house, she spoke with Roger and there were the two bright boys. She couldn't approach them, of course, but watched them and the way the worked as they handled minor investigations of their own. Her conclusion was still the same: they were both eligible to be successors. What one had, the other lacked and their differences complimented each other. With this in mind, she planned to return and persuade both Watari and L that maybe two successors would work.

As soon as she gained access into the building, she contacted Watari first who filled her in. L had chased Aizawa out and now breaking apart the Task Force. She sighed, having a feeling that this would happen sooner or later. His lack of motivation of finding Kira and the Task Force's reluctance of using any means necessary would eventually clash but she hoped that maybe the breakthrough with the Yotsuba group would make things better.

But apparently not.

Next, she was heading up to Misa's room but what she was _not _expecting to happen was walking into a room was L's back to her. "Yes. Misa, is indisputably the most perfect and worthy woman for Light." And although his tone was bored, the blonde girl suddenly popped up and kissed him on the cheek.

Elaine didn't make a sound.

"I could actually fall for you."

She bit on her lip.

"Let's not go that far," Misa mumbled but then brightened up, "but you may can be a friend of mine! Would that be okay?"

"Yes, so now I gain yet another friend." L commented, distractedly and she was about to make her presence known until -

"Yeah! Well any friend of Light can be a friend of mine as well!" Misa cheered and then they were spinning around ridiculously and Elaine stepped out. She needed air, needed movement. She took a deep breath now that she was out in the hallway, wondering why her heart was beating so fast or how her face had heat up like this.

_He was just amusing her for the case, Elaine, you know that. You know that he would say whatever it takes to solve this_.

But that didn't make her feel much better either.

0-0

Light closed his eyes, agitated. Why did Misa have to be so...eager? Purposely putting herself in danger just because she loved him – and it bothered him even more that Ryuzaki would use that against him. Now he was forced to do things Ryuzaki's way, of course, even if he objected it. He couldn't let Misa be run over by Ryuzaki, after all...

He wondered how Emiko had survived being his partner for so long.

And speak of the devil, as soon as he shuffled the door open first – he came face to face with the girl of his distant memories. She was no longer the familiar, tousled looking woman who looked _too _comfortable everywhere but more like the woman she posed to be when she first met him. Her dark hair blended with the darkness of the hallway, and her entire presence was like a smudge in the darkness. Black hair and clothing, nothing but her pale face and even lighter eyes making it clear she was there. "Emi – you're back," he sighed the relief clear in his tone. Immediately, he felt a yank on his arm.

"So you are." Ryuzaki left the room, with Misa trailing behind him still with that glow around her. Light, having a keen sense of observation, did not miss the tone in his voice. Emiko couldn't look at him.

"So I am."

0-0

She had gotten back to Japan late, and was absolutely starving. After having caught up with the recent events and explained their plans, she found herself nodding away but not really listening. Of course, she was given no choice of whose side she was working on – L's. Even _if _she didn't agree to it, there was no way of her working opposing him. She was, after all, his partner. It was expected. Even if she felt now strangely uncomfortable.

She yawned, not covering her mouth as she made her way to the kitchen, knowing that she wouldn't run into L here. He had Watari supplying him constantly with food, after all, and it was well past midnight. The refrigerator on her floor had run out of milk so she found herself having a 2AM snack of cereal three levels down from her room.

As soon as she arrived back from and left the awkward encounter at Misa's, she didn't have a chance to change or shower so instead of being comfortable in a pair of boxers and a slouchy t-shirt, her earlier outfit was still on. Whenever she was out, she took care to seem in place and given the fact that she spent the majority time of the day in airports and on a first-class plane, she was still in her simple, lace white dress with a soft oversize cardigan on top. She didn't even had a chance to throw away the heels she wore, waiting until she got to her room to do so. With the sleeves well over her fingers, she carried the bowl of cereal back upstairs to -

"I thought you would be down here."

"The whole 'you can't unlock the handcuffs so you have to be on my side' thing to Light is just a huge lie, don't you think?" She asked, too tired to get into a deep conversation about what she found out in Winchester or about what happened in Misa's room...especially that.

"He's asleep, it doesn't matter." Pause. "How was England?"

She sighed. What could she say? She missed the dark skies, the sound of rain and the smell of an age-old Orphan secluded in the forests already. What she didn't miss, however, was the new feeling of being in an institute there – as if the children are _forced _to prove their worth, all forced to be great. When she lived at the Wammy's House, intelligence wasn't a requirement as much as a common trait. Maybe it was the pressure placed on those kids. They all heard about L, and they all wanted to be like him, to surpass him even...and things weren't like that for her when she was younger. Her days at the Orphanage didn't compose of being smarter; no, it was a happier memory of discovering her mind. That, and of being with Lawliet.

Now of course, being with him only made her excited but nervous and tense all at once. Especially after overhearing him and Misa...even if it was a joke...

"Ellie?"

Her eyes flashed up to his at hearing her name, but he didn't seem apologetic. "Don't worry, there's no one around." He said, taking a step closer. His eyes ran down her and suddenly she was felt expose. She nodded, taking a bite of her cereal, her eyes down. "Something wrong?" He asked curiously, hands in his pocket.

"I'm just tired. And hungry. I'll see you in the morning," she said quietly as she began leaving – but he stopped her. He didn't even have to touch her, just simply a shift of his shoulders and the slight movement of turning his head towards her made it clear enough that he wasn't done talking to her yet. "Wait -"

"Yeah?" She didn't know why she was so quick to respond, so breathlessly but she wanted him to say something...to say that he valued her friendship. That hers was enough. That although Light was intelligent, he would still prefer her or as pretty and eager as Misa may be, he would rather have _her _work with him.

But she was being petty and insecure for an unfathomable reason and there was no way he was going to say that. Ever. And she shouldn't expect him too. After all, he didn't even say good-bye.

Instead, she got something else.

"I'm glad you're back," he murmured, taking her hand – holding it there for a second too long – before placing it on his shoulder as he bent down. She stopped breathing. She looked down, watching as he placed a hand behind her ankle and lifting up her feet to slip off the heels gently. "You know, I missed you around here."

"What are you doing?" She asked quietly, scanning the room around nervously. He took off the other pair and slowly stood back up.

"They don't seem comfortable," he simply said as he placed them on the counter, "especially not on you." With his hands back in his pockets, he turned and began walking away. She watched as he started to blend into the darkness yet she had the oddest feeling in her chest when he lifted a hand out to wave at her without turning around. There was a softness in his tone that she hadn't noticed before, and his touch still lingered on her hand – and she didn't forget the way her heart wouldn't just stop hammering earlier. But this was L...Lawliet speaking, touching her.

"After all, I wouldn't want you to fall."

And then she realized it was too late.

* * *

:)

Hope that will satiate what Elaine/L remains until...you know :) Thanks for reading - reviews would be lovely! So close to 100 reviews...and five more chapters to go...


	17. Chapter 16: To Be A Detective

CHAPTER SIXTEEN - TO BE A DETECTIVE

_Three years ago..._

"You will be exchanged to another department, Lexi."

The girl looked up, hands frozen in midair as she frowned at the Chief's word. "What?" She asked, her eyebrows pulled together. Her dark hair was up in a messy pony tail, and she wore an outfit of all black that made it difficult to decide whether she was twelve or twenty. Only she knew her real age – fifteen. "There has been a special request for your assistance," he said, his London accent strangely tilted, as if he was trying very, very hard to sound neutral. She raised an eyebrow, her gray eyes appraising him carefully.

"Permanently?"

"It seems so," he said softly. He was in his early forties, and the three years he had worked with Lexi – back when she was so obviously young, but people had forgotten those days because of the multitude of tasks she had taken on which aged her a decade – made her almost like a daughter figure to him, someone to keep by his side. His own daughter was off in America, doing God knows what and now she would be gone too.

"Aw, cheer up, Will," she said and just as easily as her frown appeared, a smile lit up her face – her eyes bright, genuine, childlike. "So who's the unlucky group? Please tell me it isn't the Americans, they've been after me since the Paris case -"

"No," he stopped her immediately and rocked back in her heals. "It's someone who you are supposedly familiar with."

Her curiosity piqued up. "Oh?"

"They call him L."

...

Elaine took a deep breath, staring at the hotel room in front of her located in Iceland. She had exactly no idea _why _Lawliet would set up headquarters in perhaps the most peaceful place, when he should be working in some crime infested country like the United States. But then again, she shouldn't be making any assumption about him...she didn't know him anymore. Not since he suddenly picked up and left five years ago without a single word. Watari was gone too, and suddenly there was a man called Roger there who had the audacity to throw tests at Elaine and scoff at her "intelligence".

But she knew she was just being unnecessarily bitter, but how was a ten year old was suppose to feel when the man she thought was fatherly and her best friend left her behind?

And the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. More restless. How _dare _Lawliet just leave her – after all those promises of friendship, of working together, of somehow finding a way to be connected? He didn't even left her a note, an explanation. One morning, she woke up and skipped over to his room to go to breakfast with him – and there was nothing there. She thought something had happened, that he was kidnapped.

And it hurt.

And it hurt even more when she had to hear it from the other kids that they had seen him leave in the morning.

Her hand tightened around the strap of her bag, trying to cease her shaking and she couldn't just stand there any longer. She ran into the Grand Hotel Reykjavik, ignoring the beautiful sparse and modern entry, and went up to the clerk instead. She talked in Icelandic for a quicker access, and although her accent was perhaps terrible, she was fluent enough that she checked in and was heading up the elevators to the highest Presidential suite in a matter of seconds. She left her bags with the bellhop and took the key card, running up to his room.

The hallways felt like it was sucking her in, and that she wasn't making any movement but somehow she arrived there and swiped it quickly, throwing open the door. She was panting as her head moved back and forth, trying to find him – but all she saw were food. Plates of desserts and abandoned tea sets. Stacks of files and paper made up another majority but she saw no life. She glanced behind her, and seeing that the bellboy was still arriving, she couldn't shout out his name as much as she wanted too.

And then the door slammed close behind her and she whipped around, coming face to face with a man. Not just any young man, but one that was several inches taller than her, sickly pale but smooth clear skin, smudged with shadows beneath black eyes with messy black hair to match. A face not quite white, not quite Asian. A face of her childhood, of her memories - a face she could not forget even after three years.

His eyes searched her face. "Hello, Elaine," he said in a careful tone. "I do hope you're not angry at me for not keeping in touch."

She opened her mouth, but she couldn't find the right words, so he continued in his usual rushed murmur. "And I hope that we could get past it, and work together." He stopped and slipped his hands into his pockets, making prominent his odd stance as he walked around her to pick up a beautifully decorated red velvet cupcake. He held it precariously between his index and thumb, staring at it as he spoke. "I heard that you have been doing well." He handed the cupcake towards her, no smile on his face but his eyes were light, happy even. "I'm glad to hear that."

And at his acknowledgement, all her anger collapsed and she cried out his name before throwing her arms around him. "Lawliet!" She exclaimed, torn between laughter and tears as she squeezed the too tall, too thin man. "God, it's been so long. Have you been sleeping? Where's Watari? Has he been feeding you - God you're so thin. You've been working nonstop, haven't you? Stop using your brain and let that fat accumulate! You're going to get sick like that! But God it's been so long. Don't you _dare _do that to me again, or I will track you down and kill you. And was it you that called me here - or Watari? Please say it's -"

He stuffed the cupcake into her mouth.

"I missed you too, Ellie."

She stopped, mid-banter as the overly sweet taste of the cupcake filled her mouth. She dabbed the icing at the corner of her mouth, grinning up at him as she ate the dessert he so kindly shoved in her face. "Don't just leave like that again, okay?" she pleaded softly, "ever." And despite that sad, anxious tone - it contradicted those bright, gray eyes that he had lingered over his mind for the past three years. The very same shining eyes of a five year old somehow, despite all the violence and deaths she had seen, remained.

And with this in mind, the idea of falling in love with the girl that was Elaine Bennett became a little more real.

0-0

"Wake up, Emi."

She felt a gentle nudge on her shoulder and her eyes slowly opened. "Hm?" She mumbled, rubbing her eyes as she yawned and stretched. "What time is it?"

"Eleven o'clock. We need your help to prepare Misa-"

"Damn it!" She groaned and twisted around to check her clock. "Jet lag." She concluded, getting up groggily and rubbing her entire face this time tiredly. "Just give me one second."

"For you, two," was the ever kind response from L. She shot him a look, hoping that it would seem normal but she was suppressing an unfamiliar flutter in her stomach. She threw over the blanket and looked down to see she was still in the now crumpled up dress.

After she got to her room early this morning, she was too exhausted too eat and simply collapsed on the bed, lost in the feeling of wonder. She had been an expert of recognizing relationships and trends her entire life, and wondered how this caught her off guard: this feeling. She had read all those novels about _love _but it had never occurred to her before that L would be something more than her other half...of a detective, that was.

But she cared for him. A lot.

"You look fine, come on. Knowing Misa, she's going to need a lot of tips on acting." L mused and she couldn't help but smile at that. Behind them, Light sighed. He remembered when Emiko was the one doing the acting...and her friendship was so believable even _she _fell for it.

"Do I get a role in this?" She asked curiously, throwing on a sweater.

"No."

"No."

She gave the two of them a look, surprised at their same answers. "What – why? Misa's doing it!"

"Stop being such a child, Emi -"

"They've already seen her face and know her -"

Again, they were answering at once and she only picked up the general sense of _no you're not doing it _from their mixed up reasons. "But I've done it before!"

"Yes, but before we knew about the way Kira kills -"

"It's too dangerous, and I'm _not _going to stand by and let -"

"Okay, okay! Stop!" She groaned, unable to understand either of them. She fingered her hair, walking out of her room with the two young men following behind after her. "Geesh, you two are like a married couple."

0-0

Elaine couldn't help but laugh as Misa over dramatically flew backwards onto the couch, receiving a tap on the head by L's makeshift horn with an agitated sigh. "Misa, please stop overacting – it looks too cheesy not to mention fake." His disinterested tone pulled a smile on Elaine's face as she crossed her arms and shifted her weight against the other leg.

"Huh? But I thought that was a realistic performance!" She pouted behind the couch.

"Just do it again."

"Whatever you say, _oh so great director._"

"If you don't get serious about this, I'll kick you," he said with an even darker and serious tone, making her laugh out loud. She bent her arm, resting her elbow against L's shoulder rather awkwardly given the height difference but the mere gesture felt normal. Light sighed and glanced at her. "Any tips?" He asked with a hint of a smile. She blinked.

"Well don't flail your arms around like that, for one thing," Elaine advised, biting on her lip as she looked at Misa and wondered what type of angle the girl should take it at. "Act frightened, but subtle. Be confused, and just slightly ashamed." She tilted her head. "Pause and look nervous, but don't be too loud or chatter on, but tell them everything. Don't hide anything back."

"That's so contradicting!"

"Women are contradicting, so it's natural." L muttered.

But Elaine didn't seem like she was in a humorous mood any more and it suddenly hit her all at once what Misa was risking by doing this...for Light. "You have to be convincing," her eyes flickered down, her voice dropped, "after all, they can easily kill you."

0-0

For several hours, Elaine had tried to distract herself by working. Working, working, working. Hours passed and she didn't even stop to eat – not until a loud entrance snapped her up just as she finally drew an ending. She looked up to see Misa practically skipping into the room with Mogi following closely behind. She watched through narrowed eyes as Misa recounted the entire event. Something about her seemed different, she noticed, a confidence. A drive. Misa wasn't blindly eager anymore, but it seemed like...like...

"Hey Light, wanna come sleep with me tonight?" She was giggling as she ducked out to the door.

Light's eyes flashed up to her, stuttering, "What-What are you talking about?"

"Just kidding!" She giggled. "You're saving for it after we catch Kira, right? You don't have to be shy about it!"

Elaine couldn't help but glance back at Soichiro Yagami, who was peering at them with his glasses shining half mortified, half like an obsessive parent. She bit back a laugh, pushing her suspicions behind her. L lowered his sugar-filled tea, looking at her and then at Light with a dryly amused expression. "Yes, Light, there's no need to be shy."

"I'm not being shy!"

"No need to be so serious either." He muttered. Elaine stood up and stretched, a smile still playing on her face. With everyone settling back in, she handed the two the reports she had been working on all day to Light and L."Well here it is," she said as Light inspected the papers in his hand and L merely listened, "my top two estimates as to who Kira is. It's between Kyosuke Higuchi and Takeshi Ooi."

"Hm," L commented thoughtfully not even bother asking why. With the years, he came to trust Elaine's predictions on possible suspects and she was always right when she pulled out the names. Light, on the other hand, needed more convincing then just the facts and dates. "I can sort of understand why you think these two but..."

"Don't ask," L paused, spoon in the air, "just accept."

Elaine gave him a grateful little smile but she expected Light's curiosity. "I understand your your scepticism because these are, after all, just dates and achievements. But from everything I've dug up, Higuchi seems the most likely kill for greater self-gain – evident from the threats, blackmail and risks he's made with other companies in the past. He's greedy and rash enough to be Kira. Ooi, on the other hand, is also dedicated to the company. His proposal plans are brutal, honestly, willing to put off hundreds just to increase his profit. He's intelligent enough, and looks past any sacrifice so -"

"So it's most likely these two," L concluded.

"I wish I could make up my mind between them but," she paused and then sighed, fingering her hair, "maybe if I was there when Matsuda messed up, and if I went with Misa and all her friends -"

"No, stop." L groaned, not even wanting to imagine his partner in skimpy "shirts" and short skirts lounging over those men, "I would really rather not have that visual."

"What's wrong, Ryuzaki?" Light asked, amused as he welcomed the distraction, "one line you won't cross?"

"Yes." He said, ever blunt as he returned to his snack. He stirred it thoughtfully, surprising both Light and Elaine with his answer. They all knew the depth he would go to find Kira, and flirting with those businessman was although uncomfortable, not beyond her abilities. She wouldn't have minded if it meant confirming her guess – if it was Higuchi and Ooi. "I wouldn't want you doing that."

She found herself smiling, that same fluttering feeling growing as she leaned over L's chair and wrapped her arms around his neck, trying to be casual. She didn't remember when she did this without her heart beating a little louder, a little faster, but she knew that once upon a time – it _had _happened. Now she wanted nothing more then...then...

"Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself."

"Hm," he simply said, pushing his cup away, "I doubt that."

She laughed. "If there's anything you have to worry for, it's Misa. Did you notice the way she was speaking when she got back?"

Light looked curious. "What do you mean?"

She ran her fingers back through her hair and sighed again, plopping down on the chair. She rested her chin upon her palm, ticking her cheeks slowly as she looked down at the report again. Higuchi's creepy face lingered on her mind, and she tried to imagine a dainty, perky girl like Misa going up against him without the help of L, Light...or even herself. "I don't know. More confident, driven. I just hope she doesn't do anything reckless."

And the next day, as Misa came back with a recording on her phone proclaiming Higuchi's role as Kira, Elaine was impressed. More than impressed, she felt as if she was useless. Except..."We need to figure out how he – oh, food!" Watari came rolling in with a three tier tray of desert and she was momentarily distracted as she took a macaroon and popped it in her mouth. She listened as L ran through what he thought about her actions, but Elaine had already guessed what his next move would be. "Hm," with her pinkie, she clicked back on the laptop.

"Hey Wedy," she said cheerily, being on friendly terms with the blonde cat-burglar. They had worked together in France before, with the older woman even teaching a sixteen year old Elaine some of her tricks in the past.

"Good to know you're alive," She said, barely joking, "what can I do for you?"

"Can you please get me an update on the current situation?" She asked as L examined his fruit cake, looking pleased.

"Everything's going smoothly, we should be able to track 70% of their movement using our cameras inside the office building." She reported back.

"What about outside the office?"

"That's not going to be possible with just Watari and me."

"What if you focus solely on Higuchi?" Elaine asked, getting a nod of confirmation from L.

"Higuchi? I've only been able to enter the houses of the five men so far." She sounded doubtful. "It took me _two days_ to just get into Higuchi's house."

L interrupted. "Then just install them into his cars."

"What?!" Wedy exclaimed. "Do you have any idea how many cars this guy has?"

"Six." Elaine and L both said at once.

"Fine," she sounded annoyed but she _had _worked with them before, after all. She expected L to be just as irrational and there was no point in arguing with his methods. "Then, I just have to install them in all his cars, right?"

"Yes, please. Thank you, Wedy." She said, ever pleasant as she hung up. She leaned back straight, waiting for L to say something. There was an audible pause before he continued. "Light, I'm sorry to keep coming back to this topic...I'll just get to the point." There was no apologetic tone in his voice, of course. "Do you remember... killing anyone I mean?"

They all tensed, and she could practically _feel _Light's anger reigniting."Are you still going on about that? Look, I'm not Kira -"

"I just want you answer the question." His tone brushed off the younger boy's anger as if it was a pest. "Well, do you remember?"

Light stopped, closing his eyes and for a long while he does not speak. And then slowly, he opened his eyes and met Elaine's gray ones. She silently begged him to not give a big speech and before attacking L yet again, and she saw the irritation in his face but Light was intelligent as he was just. "No," he said slowly, "I don't."

"Misa, what about you?"

"I don't remember. How could I – cause I'm not Kira!"

And as L explained his theory, Elaine prepared another fight to break a part, but surprisingly Light went along with it. Elaine exhaled, relief. "Thank you, Light. I can now say that I feel 99% better." And Watari reappeared, leaving behind a tray of two more cups of tea and sweets. Elaine helped herself, listening as L revealed his plan using Sakura TV to lure out Kira...

With Matsuda as bait.

"I don't need three days to decide," he said his brown eyes hard, gaining new admiration from Elaine, "I want to do this."

And for the fourth time, Elaine let out a huge breath. Movement, she realized, she needed movement. She needed progress. If it was anything to get over this almost depressive, sick state her mind had fallen under – it was action. At least that was one problem down, and many more to go.

Because after all, her confusion towards Lawliet...this _infatuation _would probably never get solved.

But then again, was being in love really such a problem?

* * *

YAY. THIS STORY HAS REACHED 100 REVIEWS :) I am so incredibly happy - thank you everyone for reading, for all those who's been keeping up and especially those who have been giving feedback! Y'all are awesome.

And I'm sorry that I gift to you is somewhat dull but necessary chapter in return. Hopefully though, it will do for now :) Elaine/L flashack coming up next, if you like - do tell me. Reviews would be lovely, as always!


	18. Chapter 17: Adrenaline, At Last

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN – ADRENALINE, AT LAST

Elaine watched as Light's plan unfold in front of them. The frantic call between Higuchi and Mogi confirmed every step of their theory, and she was tense as she waited. Something was swelling up inside of her, that familiar nervousness that had overcame her since the Kira case and it was about to burst. She was shaking. She just hoped that it would all be over soon, and they would find out _how _Higuchi had been killing and skip all this waiting! She groaned as she shot up. "I can't take this."

"Where are you going?" L called out.

"I'm going to track down Higuchi, if he's going to Yoshiba, he'll have to go through this way and I'll follow him."

"Wait -"

Too late. Elaine was already gone. She couldn't handle the feeling of watching and waiting. Before when she had to listen as Soichiro pretend to kill Light, it almost killed her with nerves, and she simply couldn't do it again. The ever so helpful Watari had already heard her leaving and set up her means of transportation. Although she couldn't drive a car, she had her motorcycle license when they had worked in Italy for several months. She threw off her clothing quickly and zipped up in a full, skin-tight suit. Her hands were still shaking as she grabbed an earpiece, two handguns, and slipped on her helmet before she raced out the building.

Zooming down the lit up streets of a Tokyo night, she turned on her earpiece. "Where is he?"

It was Light who responded. L must have been irritated at her. "He's coming -

"Never mind, I see him." She felt a pang of guilt. "I'm in pursuit."

There was an audible pause, and she had a fleeting fear that her communication was compromised, but then -

"Be safe." It was L this time, and all anticipation – of the Kira case, of waiting for a break through, of finding a new lead, of him being angry with her – disappeared and for the first time in awhile, she became conscious of the smile she had to fight down. It felt unbelievably better to feel the wind and the speed, _seeing _Kira being chased down. Not just sitting behind a screen and watching, waiting. _This_ was the life she was used to. Before the Kira case, _this _was her role. No wonder she had been feeling so low for the past couple weeks, she had been stuck in a building and reading and looking at documents. She preferred this, this chase.

"Link me in with Sakura channel."

"Got it."

Matsuda was going as planned, baiting out Kira. "Something's going on," Light's voice broke through the newscast. "He's talking to himself."

"Should I still follow him?" Elaine asked, zipping through the streets, making sure she wasn't caught. She wore all black, and her motorcycle matched – but at the speed she was going at just to keep up with Higuchi's sports car, she needed to cut all the corners she could _without _getting pulled over. "He's here."

"The show's about to begin," L said, and she grinned. She wondered how he seemed so calm – she practically bounced, waiting for him to leave the building again. She was too in the moment, feeling too strongly. L was the perfect person to have behind the screen. She, on the other hand, was not. Too excited. She wanted to go and tackle him, shout out his rights before knocking him out with the back of her pistol.

Except he walked out this time, calmly. Assured. She lowered herself closer to the motorcycle. "What's going on? Why is he so -"

"- he just took a note!"

Now she regret leaving the headquarters. She wanted to see what was going on. "Audio inside his car!" She demanded. There was a quick click, and the next thing she heard was his heavy breathing, screaming in anger. What the hell had happened? One moment, he was walking out as if he had the world at his finger tips...with some note. And now he was angry? Maybe...maybe he wrote down a name on the note, thinking it would kill Matsuda. But it had been a fake name, and that would've pissed him off, sure, but...

But that was impossible. You couldn't kill by writing their name. It was completely irrational. She quietly moved her motorcycle on foot in the alley, trying to watch him through the window.

"He's calling for Rem, a shinigami?" L muttered.

She froze. Another thought dawned onto her.

If he was angry...It was likely, very very -

_Damn._

And then he was racing ahead and she kick-started her bike, racing towards him but - "This is bad," she groaned, "he's being pulled over by a traffic cop and if I stop, he'll notice me. I'm going to meet up with the other team."

"Good for you," L couldn't help but comment, "making the reasonable decision." She didn't respond, regretting -

"I see him again!" She announced, suddenly the red sports car was zooming past by her again. "What's going on?"

"Elaine! For God's sake _be careful._" L spoke directly towards her. Simultaneously, the traffic cop that had been pursuing him suddenly dropped, falling off his motorcycle as if he..._he died_? Her hands tightened around the clutch, cursing. How did this happen – how did Higuchi manage to kill him so quickly while he was still in the car? She was amusing the idea of killing by writing down a name, but yet there was no way that he could have knew the cop's name unless -

Suddenly the night that felt years ago – the night where she slept at Light's house, the night where she heard L's shaky voice over the phone telling her that someone had died came in to mind. "Ryuzaki! He has the -"

"I believe he has the same power as the second Kira, he is able to kill just by looking at someone's face. Please keep this in mind as you move in to arrest him." And as always, they thought the same thing. Even if L was miles smarter than her, when it came down to it – their minds were alike. She would smile if it wasn't for the fact that it felt like her blood was trying to explode out of her.

"I'll keep the helmet on then," she practically shouted through the earpiece as she switched shifts and accelerated behind his maniac driving. She swerved side from side to avoid getting hit by the cars, and the entire speed he was going at made it almost seem like a dream to her – left, right, left...right again. _Don't get hit, don't get hit_. All the while, she had Headquarters shouting instructions and the Police communicating between each other on the radios.

_Damn it, he's going fast_.

"He's getting closer! Evacuate the building as planned!"

"We're coming in on air, Emiko. Trail him."

"Got it."

Higuchi's car was a steady distance away from her, but she still had to practically lie flat against it so that she wouldn't go flying off at the speed she was going at, approaching the _Blackbird_'s maximum speed at 150...155...160mph dangerously. "Wait – he's not heading towards Sakura TV. He's going towards the Yotsuba group," she informed. This was _not _going as planned, and despite the adrenaline, she had too much space in her mind to think of all the possible way this could go wrong.

She couldn't do this alone, if she were to continue to follow behind his wild goose chase...and then she saw her opening. "I have time to meet up with Yagami's ambush group." She made a swift turn, relief that she was able to slow down a notch and her breathing slowed just the slightest. "I'll be there in ten minutes."

And true to her estimate, as soon as she arrived at the TV channel, she practically jumped off her motorcycle and threw it aside, racing into the building. She touched the earpiece, whispering through the speaker, "Mister Yagami, are you at location A?"

"Emiko – you're joining as well?" He couldn't help but ask. She ran down the hallways quickly, endorphins high.

"Yes sir, and I'm well prepared. Now we have three minutes until -"

"Yes, yes, location A – and hurry."

She was already there, throwing the door open and sliding behind the cover next to him. Her breathing was racing, and her heart pounding but God she loved it. In loved with the thrill, craved the fast pace. He took one look at the eighteen year old girl who looked not at all out of place. Although he had seen her wrapped up tight as a baby around blankets for the past couple week, looking tired and bothered – seeing her now with her long hair pulled back, and her in a skin tight suit, she looked every bit like the Emiko that was ready to take on Light as Kira.

"In position." She whispered for L's benefit as she quickly loaded up the magazine into her M1911. "Ready, Mister Yagami?" She asked, tossing him the gun but he threw it right back at a shocked Elaine. "What are you -"

"I am no longer a police officer, Japanese law prohibits civilians from having guns, which means -"

"But I'm not Japanese," she said quickly. She had learn how to use firearms during her time with the SIS and Watari even taught her a bit on marksmanship. When she had such a role in the front with the criminals, learning to shoot was necessary and wasn't something she brought her morals into. "And you should be able to defend yourself if anything were to happen."

"I'll be fine." He said, but he still spared a glance at the eighteen year old girl with a gun in her hands, while the other tucked into the back of her pants.

"He's here," L told her. She nodded at Soichiro, and they both tensed, hearing him step in.

The silence was horrible.

Yet so deliciously exciting all at once.

And then -

Bright lights. Ambushed. Motion – and he was surrounded.

"Higuchi, hold it right there!" Soichiro shouted, but it was Elaine who raised her arm with a gun in it that made him freeze, as if the shock of finding the place deserted wasn't enough. "Don't move!"

The sound of foot steps and shuffles filled the silence. Her heart was pounding in a whole other way. No more of the nervous, flutters that L gave her – no, this was action at it's peak. She felt like finally, her mind was working again and she saw everything very clearly, very quickly. She felt invincible. She felt like she _won. _"I wouldn't move if I were you," she said, feeling powerful behind the gun. Hearing his cover up, she watched him carefully as he reached into his bag. "I'm with the Yotsuba group -"

And there, in those exact moments, a thrill ran down her neck and she knew_ exactly _what was going to happen but she couldn't move fast enough and -

The bullet flew.

And then, she didn't feel anything. She heard another bullet went off and Soichiro was shouting but she was trembling in disbelief as she touched her chest.

_It's wet_.

She pulled back her fingers, but all she saw was darkness, something wet dripping between her fingers.

_I'm...I'm bleeding?_

And then L's voice was in her ear, shouting, but she was already gone – falling, falling.

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I apologize for the long wait - but here it is! I am writing up the epilogue right now and I am so excited to post this up for everyone :) Reviews would be encouraging - and lovely, as always!


	19. Chapter 18: Silence

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - SILENCE

"L, Higuchi has a gun on him! The chief's been shot and...and Emiko is down."

The three men in the helicopter froze, even the sound of Watari checking his sniper suddenly stop and L had stilled all over, his black eyes wide. _No_. He – he couldn't think. Every thought, every idea was too far fetched, as if it was all out of his reach and he just could not hold on to one of it. For the first time ever, his mind was shutting down and it was Light who was responding. "Higuchi's escaping!"

"I'm alright, but we need to get help – _now_."

"This is bad," Light panicked his heart thumping loudly. But when he turned to L, he was simply staring straight ahead with his lips parted and eyes glazed over. His stomach lurched as he felt the seat beneath him buckle and the helicopter take a dip. "Ryuzaki! " He called out desperately, "Focus! She'll be okay – but, but Ryuzaki!" Light scrambled for words, wanting to shake the man before they all plummeted to their deaths but he blinked at last. His hands tightened around the controls.

"Ryuzaki."

The sound of Watari's voice brought him back, but his mind still wasn't thinking straight. It was on repeat and only on one name. _Ellie. Ellie. Ellie... _

"Ryuzaki!" Light screamed again.

And then he snapped out of it. He wasn't sure, maybe it was the sheer terror in Light's usually controlled voice that brought him back. As if nothing happened, he turned to Light and spoke in a calm voice. "This leaves us no choice. We'll have to move in and apprehend him. Watari, are you ready?" He raised a gun between his thumb and index at him, and Light saw the visible tremble in his hands. "Light, I think you should hold on to this...for self-defence. This is Kira we're after."

"But -"

"Emiko has just been shot." He said and his voice was horribly quiet and the shake in it was so clear that Light suddenly doubted himself. Doubted everything. Doubted that this was even the renowned detective in front of him when all he saw was an anxious, maybe even frightened, dark haired man. For the first time ever, this was not Ryuzaki or L. He was just a man, and one that had heard this only friend get shot down and he could not have done anything about it.

L tried to steady his hand when he finally realized that Light was staring at him too hard and too openly, but the idea of Ellie dead...of her bleeding on the ground so far away...She had to be okay. She simply _had _to be. "You have to protect yourself," and even as he said this, he wasn't talking to Light, not really. Only one face remained on his mind: the face of a girl with a bright smile, even brighter gray eyes and a laughter he had always associated with sunny days and...and bliss.

_Ellie. _

0-0

_Beep._

Inhale.

_Beep._

Exhale.

_Beep._

She squeezed her eyes.

_Beep_.

And then her eyes flew open, white light blinding her as she squinted and looked around. She was...she was in the hospital. She rolled her head to the side, feeling the stiff and itchy pillow sheet on her cheeks and it was practically all she could do, but her core felt sore – felt weak, like a part of here wasn't _there_. She tried to move her arm and she was well aware that there were things lodged inside her skin but she had to touch her stomach, to make sure that it was still there. She gently probed the area, wincing. It didn't feel quite like pain, more like a sense of raw, openness. _What happened_? She remembered racing down the night of Tokyo, of running into the building and the feeling of control – until...until..._I was shot_.

She blinked, and suddenly her mind cleared up.

_I was shot by that son of a bitch Higuchi. _

"Someone!" She shouted, but it came out more like a hoarse, cracking plea. Her voice was raw and rough and her throat constricted. "Can -"

The pain had slowly, sharply...and then all at once. From the initial piercing, it stretched out like a web of knives all over her stomach and all she thought was _I'm dying, I'm dying _before she saw a kaleidoscope of light, and then...

Blackness.

And ever so faintly, the beeping slowed.

0-0

"Can – can I go see him?" Misa whispered to Light. It had only been a day since she left the building, but she needed to see Ryuzaki again, to see his face. After regaining her memory, her Death Note exactly as Light planned, she thought that everything was finally going to click in place - but she missed a vital component. L's name. She couldn't let Light down just because her memory gave up on her, she couldn't.

"It's too risky," Light said. It was risky for _him _that was.

"Then...then I can say that I'm visiting Emiko," she whispered, urgent to prove Light her worth. His face cracked, and he looked away. Ryuk laughed behind them, knowing that shocked expression was more than just rare. It was obvious that Ryuzaki would be with Emi and it would not arouse suspicion for Misa to go to the hospital where they would indirectly meet. Whether it would be Misa or Rem who ended up killing L didn't matter to him, as long as that detective was dead_._ The sweet victory was only days, maybe hours before him. He nodded.

She hugged Light, wondering why she couldn't stay like this ever – in the arms of her saviour, of someone so brilliantly smart, someone that would and had took care of her. But a lingering whisper in her mind told her that the only reason why he was holding her because there were others watching and -

No. She would not think that. Light loved her. He saved her. He stopped his entire plan and erased his memory and went through months of torture, confinement and being chained up to someone just to get her out of those strait jackets. He loved her. What other possible reason for undergoing all of that if not love? Yet when he pulled away, his brown eyes were not gentle or kind or even intelligent. They were cold. Stern. Untouchable, unreachable. "Remember what I told you?"

Yes. She did. Kill as much as she can. She would do that – for him. After all, look at all he did for _her_. She nodded. When she left the building, she immediately went to visit Emiko. The girl was staying at a hospital that was also located within the city, only a short, direct fifteen minute walk away. She checked in with the nurse easily with a bubbly laughter and friendly but worried smile, finding out the room. But as the sound of nurses and people faded behind her, that smile slowly faded away and she felt a growing anxiety twisting in her stomach. By the time she stood in front of the room, she wanted to run out. She couldn't breathe. She didn't want to be here.

She prepared herself for it, for seeing the girl that had been always around for weeks all bandaged up and unconscious. They weren't close, they weren't best friends or anything...but Emiko had left an impression on her the way older students did when they talked to a junior or freshmen kindly. They looked out for each other. They irritated each other – a lot. And often. But...but...but she couldn't forget the late night talks. The way her gray eyes softened, the way her voice dropped when she told to be careful.

Misa's thoughts switched to Rem, who cared for her as well and the memory of the Shinigami by her side triggered the memory of another day, months ago...

She remembered why she was so nervous, but _why _she felt like she absolutely needed to see Emiko. The memory was too hazy...of being in Aoyama disguised, seeing Emi on Light's arm – her real name, her life span. And when she walked into that room, where the girl lay...she regretted. She regretted seeing Emiko, breathing softly. Her hair was like a smoke underneath her, long and dark and flowing around her sleeping face. And she looked calm, and peaceful – not nervous, or frantic, or _trying _to seem happy for everyone else's sake.

But then Misa saw her life span, and looked at the date. "_No, no_," she whispered, taking a step back, and then another. And then she was racing out of the hospital, not even bothering to look for Ryuzaki before she ran out to the cold air, trying to catch a breath.

_I was right. _

0-0

"Good morning."

There was no response but the hum of the machinery, the shallow breathing and he was sleepless and maybe even paranoid enough to hear each drip coming from the intravenous therapy that was feeding the body medication. For the past four days, he had not slept for a standard 90 minute cycle, nor had he stopped trying to talk to her as if she could hear him. "You should wake up sometime. Watari finally got around to make hot chocolate the way you like it – you know, melted chocolate bars and cream?"

She didn't say anything.

Instead, she simply laid in bed and he brought the blanket up closer to her neck. He wondered if she was cold. Or if she was even conscious – was she dreaming? Or was she in just a state of nothingness? Was her brain working, but just the function of physical control not being carried out? He remembered reading an essay about it somewhere when he was maybe nine or eight but for the life of him, he couldn't pull the words or even the points made together. It was like that lately. His thoughts were muddled, racing from one to another.

Every time he looked at her, something felt terribly wrong. It was torn between a sense of shock - she wasn't _supposed _to be there - and guilt for letting her go. He was an idiot. But he remembered how happy, how alive and clear she sounded when she was on that motorcycle, and he knew who he had to blame – Higuchi but he was dead before he could torture him. Correction. Interrogate.

And now here he was, unsure what to do next. He wanted to wait for Elaine to wake up before he made a move with the Death Note, but he knew the Task Force – and Light especially – would push ahead. Light...that was another problem altogether. One he wanted Elaine's opinion on.

And of course, everything rooted back to her.

He sighed, looking down at her before looking out the window. It was raining, and raining hard. "Wake up, Ellie," he murmured quietly, his eyes flickering back to the brown haired girl. He kept his hands in his pockets, fighting back the urge to brush her hair back and touch her face. He felt his fingers twitch, trembling but his face remained unmoving, eyes hidden behind his hair. "Please, just wake up." He reclined back into the chair, one feet at a time and his voice was a whisper by the time his head was resting between his knees. "I don't know what to do." _Without you._

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Yes, this is a bit short...but the next (and final, not including epilogue) chapter is a lot longer! Reviews would be lovely :)


	20. Chapter 19: A Shout Into The Void

**Last chapter! It is not _too _long but if you thought so...well, you know...it's the last chapter before the Epilogue, which is pretty short. I don't usually put the A/N up here but...yep. ;) Let's just say that I did not make any grammar mistake. **

**Hope you enjoy! **

* * *

CHAPTER NINETEEN – A SHOUT INTO THE VOID

Dry air, stiff sheets, silence.

Her eyes cracked open, and she slowly reached up to rub the crust out of her eyes and for a few seconds, she just laid there - not thinking.

Breathing.

And then her eyes sharpened as she remembered how fast she blacked out last time. _Oh no, oh no - it's going to hurt again. I'm going to black out again. No. No, no no._ And Elaine was frantic again, taking care this time as she sat up and her hands were shaking, her fingers not listening to the goddamn instructions of finding paper - of a pen - anything, _anything_ that can leave a mark. Her hand smacked the bedside table in search of something, finding a pad of paper and thank the Lord a pen - but -

It. Would. Not. Work. "_Fuck_." A desperate cry. Her hands were unable to stay still as she scratched the pen against paper but nothing would would appear, nothing but dents.

Her mind was thrown into panic. Why was this_ not working_? Why was everything against her? Why was this happening - why didn't things go as plan? The pen had one job - _one job - _and yet here it was, doing nothing but stabbing her paper. It was useless. A waste of space. A waste of material and for once in her life, why did something happened that she and Lawliet were not prepared for? And now, now days afterwards God decided to give her a pen that _could not work_? And then she was sobbing. She didn't know _why_ she was acting like a child, but she was just so frustrated of not being able to move without pain, of having Kira escape, of getting shot, of working on a case that had no end, of having a _fucking pen that did not work _- so she cried.

And she cried.

And even as she screamed, she cried.

"For once in your life, just work!" She shrieked, stabbing the pen against the paper again but there was no ink and she cried out again, whipping it against the wall before crumbling down, her face in her hands as she cried and cried for no particular reason. "You stupid, stupid pen," she sobbed, her body heaving, "stupid, useless _pen_." She wanted Lawliet here. She wanted him next to her. She wanted him to -

"You're going to hurt the pen's feeling like that, Ellie." She froze. And everything just -

- stopped.

And slowly, she turned her head and as soon as she saw the men with dark, tousled hair and observing dark eyes, with even larger shadows smudged beneath them - something in her chest collapsed. But it wasn't painful, it didn't make her want to burn down the world. And before she could even say anything, another sob choked her and she curled onto herself, shaking her head and wiping her palm against her eyes desperately.

"Ryuzaki?"

He waited at the door for what felt like forever. And then he closed the door behind him and that little motion clicked something inside her head – the first breakthrough. "Lawliet," she corrected and she tried to move towards him but a pain radiated from her stomach. He walked towards her, frustratingly slow but once he was close enough, she threw her arms around him, forcing herself to forget about the pain as she was on her knees on the bed, arms tight around his neck and face buried in his shoulder, whispering his name over and over.

"You're okay," he said quietly, never before feeling this relieved. He could practically drown in it. "You're _okay_."And she cried and laughed at once, her fingers digging into his back. "God," she hiccuped almost pathetically, "we're like broken records."

"I suppose we are," he pulled her back, examining her. She looked fine, the days of sleep and sudden rush of feelings bringing colour back to her face. Although her eyes were rimmed with lingering tears, she looked happy. "Don't do anything like that again." He said solemnly. "Understood?"

She laughed, resting her head back between the curve of his neck and shoulders, arms still like vines around him. She never wanted to let go of him ever again. What felt like a problem days ago - all those feelings - seemed like the best thing in the world right now. Everything made a little more sense. She pushed him back, her hands on his face as her eyes held his.

"I love you."

She felt him freeze, but she didn't care. She needed to get it out. Words rushed, eyes moving across his face in a desperate attempt to make him understand. "My God, I love you. From the day I've met you, I wanted to take care of you. And I blame you for getting it this far – because," God, what _didn't _L do to her? "You keep me around and you yell at me, and you make me laugh and you look at me before you look at _anyone_ else, and you call me Ellie and," she stopped for air, laughing bitterly at how free it felt to just speak her raw and honest thoughts, "and I just love you _so much_."

What else could she say?

Her voice broke, gray eyes wide and begging. "Okay?"

He stared, speechless. "Okay." But she couldn't breathe. Okay? That was it? That was his response? His eyes flickered down to hers and he slowly guided her back on the bed and all she could do was stare.

"Okay?" She whispered, and suddenly she wanted to crawl back into a hole. To go back to several seconds ago. To be asleep and stay asleep for the rest of her life. "That's _it_?" He tilted his head the slightest, eyes on her and she was sure that her heart was cracking.

"Well of course," he said in a casual tone, pulling the blanket closer to her. He turned to look at the heart rate monitor, his lips parting the only reaction when he saw how rapid it was. "What could I possibly say after that?" His voice was almost flat, and his eyes that shifted to her almost annoyed – but not quite. She stared at him, like a deer in headlights. Not breathing still. She wasn't even sure if she had said anything, if she had whispered it or thought it.

But she had only one thought. "Oh."

But then L threw her a strange glance as if for once, he did not understand. His mouth twitched the slightest, and his dark eyes flickered across her puppy-sad face. She didn't look at him. He sighed. "You _are _like a monkey." And at that, her eyes - such a pale gray it was more like the colour of rain clouds than anything - looked up at him with that same expression she had when she was five and he became suddenly more aware of his breathing as he leaned in close enough to see each of her eyelashes, each little fleck of colour in those eyes. "Ellie." Her eyes moved away and her chin dipped and as if by instinct, he tipped her face back so that she was looking at him.

"Elaine," he said again, quieter this time. And then -

"I am in love with you."

Her face lit on fire and she couldn't look at him. She did not believe her own ears because there was no way that -

"But romance in the workplace -"

"Oh, _shut up_." And she pushed everything aside to close the distance between them and kissed him. Elaine kissed Lawliet. And she thought it may have been weird because this was _L _and yet her mouth was on his and her hands in his hair and he was kissing her _back _- _L_, she could not stress this enough - and it was as if she was pulled in deeper and deeper into it, like a part of her was finally connecting. And her heart. It ached and raced and stopped all at once.

And when he leaned back, it felt like he ripped a part of her away and she was left breathless. "No -"

He was speaking in English, and the native language was like honey to her ears: the pleasant, faint English tilt in his voice as he said, "please don't leave me again."

And for some reason, those words meant more than anything, even more than love. Because in those words she heard a vulnerability she thought only she had. It made her feel like despite everything, _he _needed _her_. That she was his Ellie to his identity of L. She pulled him close again, simply just to feel the line of his jaw on her fingertips and the heat of him surround her. And just before she kissed him again, she said:_  
_

"Attachment issues, Lawliet. Do work on that."

Because she was Elaine and he was Lawliet and that was simply who they were. She felt his smile against her mouth, and he said some mildly insulting things back at her but it didn't matter because he loved her and at last, she felt whole again.

0-0

"Thank God you're awake."

Elaine's eyes fluttered open, and she murmured incomprehensibly as she rubbed her eyes. After a yawn and a good stretch, she looked up to see Light closing the door behind him. Maybe it was her mindset, maybe it was the drugs or maybe it was the new blood in her system – but he looked different.

Sure, he had on that usual white button down and dress pants. A smile spread across his handsome face, but it looked...different. Calculated. Not the same as before. And it was _definitely _not the drugs because her mind felt sharper now.

"Hi." She smiled. She felt nervous as he came around and crossed his arms.

"How are you feeling?" He asked politely. _Politely_. Not worriedly or concerned or even curious. Maybe she was paranoid, but this Light felt...different. No, not different. Nostalgic. The Light _before _the imprisonment. And as if by instinct, she smiled wider. "Like I was just shot, but I feel better now." She sat up straighter, struggling but he simply watched, not trying to help her at all. She didn't know why, but she felt...disappointed. "Do you want to catch me up?"

He raised an eyebrow but his honey brown eyes did not shift in expression or interest. "I thought Ryuzaki came here this morning?"

She flushed. "We weren't talking about the case," she said quietly. Nope, she was too busy vomiting out words, twining her fingers with his and keeping him close as they...talked. They talked about the past. About the little details. About their favourite cooking shows. About lunch food, and about when Watari could start bringing in cakes instead of the horrible, tasteless hospital food.

Light smirked and any doubts she bad before disappeared. Something changed. "So what happened?" She asked carefully. She made sure not to let his bias cover the truth of what happened. If something _was _different, Light may leave out critical points or...he could just plain out lie to her. He relaxed slightly, pulling up a chair.

"You've been out for several days," he began, "we retrieved the means of Kira's murdering." Her eyebrows shot up, and he continued unperturbed. He looked strangely interested in the metal rails on her bed as he leaned back. "It was a notebook full of names and of course, it was all the criminals that has died. Not all of it – which lead us to believe that each Kira has their own notebook."

So she was right. The impossible _was _possible. This was not a human – there was some sort of godly intervention in the whole case. No wonder why it was so difficult; it was them up against a super natural. So how could they possibly win? Who was to say that this...this Shinigami could not transfer the notebook to another human?

"There were rules in this notebook, accompanied with the Shinigami...Rem." Light said slowly and at last, he looked at her from beneath his eyelashes. He watched her reaction carefully and was satisfied with her gasp. She looked at him sharply. "Misa was released and the killings continued – but there was a thirteen day rule and she was cleared. But it doesn't change the fact that there's another Kira out there..."

"The rules," she said slowly, "what are they?"

He moved and took out a sheet from his back pocket. But when Elaine gave him a questioning glance, Light simply smiled and said, "sometimes, I refer back to it. The whole mess is stuck in my head." She stared at him. God, he was handsome. She couldn't describe him right now with any word except that he was...sharper. And clever. There was a new aura to him, something she couldn't put a finger on. But this new confidence was so different than the Light before.

She took the paper without breaking eye contact with him and it wasn't until it was directly in front of her that she glanced down and read off the rules carefully. And then again. And then one last time for good measure. Then she handed it back to him with a frown. "Thanks," she said quietly. Her head started to process these rules with all that was happening, trying to find a connection. Her eyebrow was furrowed, her thumb lining her lower lip, a trait that she shared with L.

Seeing her so deep in thought, Light's guarded expression slipped slightly.

He knew that she had to die. She was too closely connected with L, and L had to die himself. And with everything she found out in the recent weeks, Light had to consider the chance that she may actually be the one to discover who the true Kira is. He winced and looked away. He would be lying to himself if he said that he wanted her to die. If there was a way...a way to render her irrelevant to the case, he would carry it out. So rarely he met a girl refreshing quite like Emiko – an alias, of course.

He closed his eyes, breathing deeply. The room was silent, nothing but the sound of rain outside between them. A harsh thunder snapped her eyes open, the gray orbs moving back to him.

"You should head home," she said softly, "before the real storm comes."

His eyes flashed up. "What?"

The smile she gave him was brief, but genuine. Even if Light was not what it seemed, the forecast called for a shower that bordered on a thunderstorm. L had already left, promising to come back after his briefing with the Task Force, rain or not. "You don't want to be stuck at a hospital overnight, do you? Misa will miss you."

He didn't quite rolled his eyes but the expression he had made it clear that he didn't care and relaxed further into his seat. "You're alone, right?"

"Well yes," she said, "but it's a hospital. I'll be fine."

"I'll stay for a little longer then," he finalized. Any moment, Rem would be killing L. If he wasn't there, it would only be better for him. Visiting Emiko after she regained consciousness was a completely understandable reason and a valid alibi...although not a strong one if she was dead. He looked away from her again.

"Really, just head back." She insisted. "I'll be fine. I need time to think anyway."

His mouth twitched, and his expression turned dark again although his voice was still light. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Light," she said heavily as if it was such a burden but there was still a smile, "I'm sure." And for whatever reason, she remembered when L called Light his friend. Maybe it was the fact that Light was being a friend to her now by staying, but whatever the reason, she remembered L's motive behind it. _To throw him off_. And before he left, she moved quickly so that she could grab his hand. He froze and slowly turned around to see a girl leaning out, her hair hanging down her shoulders and gray eyes brightly looking at him. Eyes so light that it was a sharp contrast against the dark lashes and eyebrows, her hair. "Thanks, by the way," she said with that usual Emiko-kindness, "for visiting." He blinked and opened his mouth, but no words came out. And then it was as if he was shutting out from the world.

His eyes dulled. His facade shrouded his expression and slowly, he pulled his hand back. "Of course," he said in a low tone, "I'm glad you're okay."

She let him go, watching as Light Yagami walked away from her. Something was definitely different about him. Just in the past couple minutes, she had seen so many facets of his personality. No longer was that Light who she was working alongside, the Light that was the ambitious, detective or the keeper between L and her. She didn't know _what _he was right now, but she knew that this was the same Light she had been trying to get close to, the one so bright and intelligent that she was drawn to him like a moth towards...well, like a moth towards light.

She decided to take this one step at a time.

Higuchi was dead. His killing power...went to another. Misa was released, and the killings resumed after a short pause. And Light was Light again. She thought about this hard again.

Higuchi.

Was.

Dead.

Therefore, whatever thing he possessed must have been transferred...and Misa and Light changed as a result. Could Light possibly be Kira...again? But that was impossible – the thirteenth rule clearly - but it was too convenient. It could be a lie, a falsely created rule. After all, did this _Rem _not hang around Higuchi? Who was to say that Higuchi could not simply ask her to write it in? Or maybe he wrote it in himself.

And she _would _assume this was a lie, the way she assumed that Higuchi killed by writing down the name that prompted her to take action. But if it were a lie...then Misa and Light could be the two original Kiras. And L would have been right the entire time.

Suddenly, her heart was racing and her stomach twisted. Anxiousness flooded her the way it did during her days in the headquarters. She looked up at the clock -

_What_?

How had an hour already pass? She scrambled out of the bed in a rush, ignoring the pain in her gut. She threw one glance at the IVs hooked into her and took a deep breath before pulling them out – and crying out in the process. Her hand clamped over her mouth, and she fought back the reactive tears that clouded her eyes. She _had _to get out now and tell L.

Oh God. Rem would be there. Rem could kill him. _Rem _could kill _L. _

She felt sick to her stomach. She looked down the hallway, and there was only a single nurse at the counter and a visiting family. She was wearing the hospital gowns and knew that they would stop her...and she didn't have her police badge either. She had to be stealth.

Sucking in her breath, she tried to stand up straight despite the pain in her abdomen. She walked out of the room as if she had a right too and by God given graces, no heads turned her way. It wasn't until the doors slid open that the crashing sound of heavy rain brought her out of that upcoming panic attack of stealth. Now she could scream whenever she wanted and limp without fear that a nurse would sedate her and drag her back inside.

She doubled over immediately, hands clutching her stomach as she limped out. The sharp, stabbing pain was still there, eating her away and sending pricks all over her body. Down her knees, over her wrist and around her fingers. The only thing that smothered it was folding in half so she was there, limping and bent over. But she was desperately trying to get out. This was a hospital close to Headquarters – she could see the sky scraper and the head of the building. L must have chosen it for easy access and she loved him for that.

The rain was deafening now, blurring up her sight. Already her hair was drenched with water, and it clung to her face. Her gown felt like a second, sticky skin and the wet, bumpy concrete hurt her feet. And it was cold - the cold you felt through your bones, a cold you could not escape. Her teeth was chattering and she craved warmth to beat the chills and yet, she forced herself to keep going.

She needed a taxi – and for that, she needed money. She could pay them later. She needed to get out of hospital grounds first. She took a deep breath, and forced herself to walk. But walking allowed her to think.

An hour. He could have already died. Or she could be off and look like a crazy person but at least that would mean L was alive and she was willing to risk it – for him.

_Ellie. _

She had to get to L. She had promised him to never leave him and suddenly she was filled with panic again and she forced herself to walk – limp, crawl, it didn't matter – just go _faster. _And then she got up to the side walk and then the entrance and she was waving her arms frantically but no taxi would pass by, and there were no buses – even if there was, she wouldn't know which to take. Maybe if she was calm and rational she could figure it out but her mind kept on tracing back to Lawliet. To him, his voice.

_Elaine. _

"Hey!" She shouted out and this time, a taxi – an empty one – flat out ran by her and she shrieked again. She wasn't sure when she started crying. All she knew that her face was even more wet now, and she tasted salt on her lips. Angrily she wiped her face with the back of her palm but it didn't matter because God was against her again and was trying to plunge the world into another flood.

_I am in love with you. _

Screw taxis, screw buses. Screw the fact that she had been shot. She was running now, ignoring the pain and all she thought about was making sure that L was still alive and away from Rem. And although it did not necessarily mean that he wouldn't die, she still needed to know that she did whatever she could to prevent it. Even if Rem had already seen his face. Even if Misa or Light _was _Kira. Even if they weren't and she was being paranoid – she had to at least confirm the fact that she did everything she could.

Despite the pain, she was running on adrenaline yet again. She ignored the pain in her foot, the pain in her abdomen. Her fingers tightened around the wound, and her legs were beating against the pavement as she ran down the streets of Tokyo, her hair whipping her in face. She felt each pebble, each crack on her soles. _Please be alive, please be alive._ _Please let me just be crazy and over thinking it._

And after five, maybe six minutes of frantically running through the storm, she was able to breathe, in the metaphorical sense. She was panting and wheezing for a proper breath but the endorphin allowed her to think a little clearer. Maybe she _was _just over thinking and it wasn't like L didn't know how to take care of himself. He _was _L after all. He was fine.

Her legs started to slow down, the pause between each step becoming shorter and shorter. Her hands raked the wet locks hair away from her face and she took a deep breath, closing her eyes. A silly smile fought its way onto her mouth and she felt so _relieved _with the idea that L could handle himself that she could cry. He would be okay. The boy she loved would be _okay_. She calmed down, her heart still racing but in a whole other way. She was coming back to reality, each sense returning one by one.

Pain. All over, on her heels of her foot.

Clarity. Sight. Blur of rain. Disfigured, disorientating lights. Gleam of cars and roads.

Sound. The roar of rain, of traffic, of shouting and honking and -


	21. Epilogue

**A/N June 17, 2013: Hello! Been awhile, hasn't it? Well this story is reaching 100 favourite (yaaaaaaaay) and to commemorate, I think I'll do a three-partish, maybe, or one shot on...(this is where you get to decide)**

**a) Lexi and L's past or**

**b) one of their cases!**

**I'd love to hear your opinion! Leave it as a review, and if this is the second time reviewing, going as a guest will also work :) Once I get a good enough feel of which one is preferable, I'll start on it right away! If my little note here is ignored (sigh) I'll put up something about...well, whichever I feel like writing.**

**Bye for now!**

**(And I'm doing my exams right now, and I wish you all luck if you're taking them as well ~ )**

* * *

EPILOGUE

_13 years ago..._

"Lexi, what are you doing outside?" The old, gray haired man frowned. "It's -"

"You promised we're going out of town!" She cried out, although her eyes remained on the strange boy. His hand tightened around Quilish's and the grandfatherly man sighed.

"We have a new guest, Lexi," he said warmly, distracting her, "why don't you introduce yourself?"

But instead of saying her name, she shifted away from Quilish and faced the boy straight on. "Who are _you_?"

Her voice held no scold, just curiosity. He didn't respond and this time, it was Quilish that tightened his hand. He took a protective step in front of the boy whose hair was too long, and his eyes partially hidden behind it. In a childish manner, Lexi squatted down and twisted to peak up at his face with a wide-eyed, curious expression and all she could see was pale skin, and dark eyes and all _he _saw was a pair of pale gray eyes peering up at him excitedly. She leaned back.

"Does he talk?" She asked with that same young innocence. Some people at the Orphanage were mutes, and she would be sad if he were too.

"Yes, he does," Quilish sighed, "come, let's go inside." He walked past by him but as they crossed the gate, the tiny girl took the boy's other hand that had been curled up on his chest and - strangely enough - slipped her hand into his glove and then with a giggle, braided her fingers with his.

"I'm Lexi!" She said happily, as she tugged him forward and his hand slipped out of Quilish's. She pushed the door open with a grunt, one hand still with his, and then used her shoulder to swing the door open. With a triumph sigh, she swung back around and gestured at the Orphanage wildly with one arm as if welcoming him into wonderland. She turned to him with eyes so bright, face animated and smile genuine that he looked up at her, his lips parting with mild surprise as he took in a deep breath. She let go of his hands, only to undo his scarf and pull his hood down. Her dainty, chubby hands were on his head, fingers through the mess of his hair as she got a better look at him.

And in a way so foreign to him, she looked pleased at what she saw.

"Don't worry about a thing, stranger! I'll take care you. You'll see."

0-0

_Present_

"I – I swear, she just ran right in front of me and stopped!" A shaking voice. Sirens, everywhere. An ambulance and police at the scene. A car with the door swung open and yellow tape and stoppers cutting off the flow of traffic. There was blood stained on the concrete, and two cars directly in the centre. One with a cracked window, the other a truck and black streaks stained the pavement.

And in the middle, a body beneath a blanket.

Moments ago, a girl stopped on the moving traffic and like a doll, was thrown onto the car and tossed to the passing truck – smashed into the bumper and fell on the road ahead. Ran over. Backed up on, until finally truck skidded to a stop and the man jumped out to shake the limp girl before realizing that her body was mangled and no amount of touching her or calling her would make those eyes open.

A crushed leg, an open head wound. An endless amount of blood.

And even though there were ambulances and nurses and EMTs, there was no point.

She was dead.

Less than a mile away, a dark haired man fell out of his chair. It was a pain pulsing from his heart, and he felt it distorting every sense before he finally felt the pain of crashing onto the floor. His eyes were wide, staring up onto a boy's. And at last, everything made sense and yet his last thought was a name, and a plea.

_Ellie._

_Not her too. _

0-0

The skies were an array of colour: yellow, orange, red, purple, gray with tinges of black. Five men, clad in black suits stood in front of a grave with solemn and saddened expressions. On the stone graves mounted a cross and an unidentified plaque, and next to it was an equally identical grave, but this one filled with flowers. Short words were spoken – short, but dedicated and passionate. They were, without a doubt, sincere. All but one. Even as the others left, the boy with pale brown hair remained. He stood in front of both graves, a Shinigami by his side.

He was silent, his expression hidden. And for a moment, Ryuk thought that he was simply lost in thought - he did not imagine a break down was going to wreck havoc to the peace and silence of the cemetery. A shudder went through his body and then a repressed sound until suddenly, all was broken and the laughter of a disturbed man echoed through the empty cemetery. He laughed and laughed, his back arched and his arm thrown out. "Now," his words - savage, Ryuk thought, "everything that was in my way is _gone_. And everyone else still believes in me." He collapsed onto his knees, a grin too wide on his face as his eyes consumed with greed and hunger for something he had already taken over as his fingers clawed into the dirt of the grave.

Ryuk stared. His expression even in the twisted demon form unable to show whether he was amused or disgusted.

"It's only a matter of time until I get rid of the police too." He lost all control, all the cover of the calm, cool Light Yagami as he proclaimed this, his voice strong. What the God of Death was seeing was yet another terrible human, obsessed with death. Obsessed with Kira. And it intrigued him yet made him hate humanity at once. "What do you think of _that_, L?" He shrieked, his face wild and inhuman. "This is my perfect victory. That's right - _I win._"

After months and weeks, Light Yagami won. L was dead.

Watari was dead.

Elaine was dead.

And then his expression changed again. It was as if each line and etch of his face was shifting, transforming. In a second, the murderer disappeared and all Ryuk saw was the charming, young man with intelligence in his face and daggers in his eyes. Those pale brown brown eyes that seconds ago glowed crimson flickered onto the grave next to which he defiled warmed into the brown that had deceived others for so long. Brown eyes that made someone trusted him, believed him. Made him appear attractive and kind and passionate. There was no longer a smile, a smirk. Not even a frown.

But then his face twisted into a disgusted expression. "And you," he spat out and snarled, "_Elaine_." The name felt wrong coming from his mouth and he said the word like a profanity. "You died all on your own." His voice was no longer a madman's, but a bitter eighteen year old boy's. Calm and controlled.

He pulled himself up, brushed the dirt from his suit and regarded his filth encrusted nails with a cold, disinterested expression.

His mind railed back to the beginning. To the day he was appointed this role - the destiny of becoming a God. Who else but him could have pulled it off? No one. No one was smart enough, cunning enough, willing enough and able to sacrifice whatever it took to achieve the new world. It all began the day he picked up the Death Note, but there would be no end to his reign. Now there was nothing stopping him. No dessert-eating detectives that chained his wrist to him. No girls with bright gray eyes that pulled him into a false delusions.

He ignored the fact that it meant that now, his brain would no longer be challenged.

And now his heart, steadier.

He looked at the grave again. Elaine's. And then his eyes slid towards L's with a disdainful gleam. Something not quite like anger or envy but bitterness unfurled inside of him.

So be it. Let Elaine die because she was foolish enough to go against him. Or perhaps it was just her ill-fated destiny that she were to meet L before she met him. If Elaine had not been a part of the case, just another detective – he could have used her. He smiled at the idea of that. Of manipulating her and all her resources. But then he thought about the girl that was too comfortable around L. The way she touched the strange detective, and the way she smiled at him. The way they understood each others' minds and thoughts. Light could not imagine that intimacy – the familiarity – with anyone.

The smile faded.

"But I suppose it only makes sense for you to die together."

* * *

So brings the end of the story I wrote up on a whim because I needed a break from the Naruto fandom - who knew that a lot of people would read and like this too? :') So thank you everyone for sticking with me for the past twenty one chapters, and I hope that although it's not a happy ending, you'll be happy with the ending!

Parting words in the form of a review would be lovely :)

And once again, for the final and last time - thank you for reading!


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